ROELAND PARK MUNICIPAL COURT
The city of Roeland Park is one of the smallest municipalities within Johnson County. Spanning across 1.62 square miles, Roeland Park is home to just over 6,700 mostly blue-collar residents with a median age of 36 years old. Residents of this municipality primarily work in education, health care and the social assistance sectors.
Roeland Park contains one municipal court within its borders, located in their City Hall building which is one block east of Roe Avenue along 51st Street. It happens to be directly behind the QuikTrip on 51st and Roe. Small neighboring cities can also be confused with Roeland Park – particularly Mission Hills, Westwood, and Fairway – but these cities have their own respective municipal courthouses where they handle their own traffic/city ordinance infractions. Because Roeland Park is one of the most densely populated areas in Johnson County, crimes committed against other people are seen in this city often such as disorderly conduct, battery, trespassing, etc.
In order for the Roeland Park Municipal Court to hear a case two criteria must be met: (1) the alleged violation must have occurred inside the city limits of Roeland Park; and (2) the violation charged is a city ordinance violation. Examples of frequently charged city ordinance violations include DUI, driving on a suspended license, marijuana possession, trespass, theft, minor in possession, drug paraphernalia, pet violations and a few other “code” violations. Generally, code violations deal with the maintenance and upkeep of homes and businesses.
Courthouse: The Roeland Park Municipal Court is in Roeland Park one block West of the QuikTrip on 51st and Roe Avenue. The courtroom is in the basement of City Hall which also contains the Roeland Park Police Department. The space is limited and often cannot hold everyone who has cases when court is in session so some will wait in the hall outside of the courtroom until their case is called. The courthouse is equipped with technology to play video and audio evidence and can also use a media platform to contact those that are in custody or incarcerated so that they can participate in their hearings.
The address of the Roeland Park Municipal Court is:
4600 W 51st Street, Suite #200, Roeland Park, KS 66205
Court Personnel
Judge: Only one judge hears cases in the Roeland Park Municipal Court.
The Judge in Roeland Park is: Karen Torline
Prosecutor: The responsibility of the Roeland Park Attorney’s office is to making charging decisions and prosecute alleged crimes that take place within the borders of Roeland Park. In all criminal cases, Roeland Park is represented by a city prosecutor whose office is located in a small room adjoined to the courtroom. The Roeland Park prosecutor works part time and has his own full-time practice and is usually only available when court is in session.
The City Prosecutor in Roeland Park is: Frank Gilman
Court Clerk: The Court Clerk’s office is entrusted with the administrative tasks of conducting court. The office is located on the same floor as the court room, however there is another location on the second floor where you can pay fines and other things of that regard.
The Court Clerk in Roeland Park is: Kelley Nielsen
Court Security: Kansas law requires court security for all municipal courts. Therefore, the Roeland Park Municipal Court has ample security measures to ensure the safety of those attending the proceedings. Security will check people in upon arrival and giving paperwork to the court clerk.