Sedgwick County District Court Overview
Sedgwick County is in Colorado's 13th Judicial District. The official Sedgwick County court page identifies the other counties in the district as Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Washington, and Yuma. The 13th Judicial District Attorney's site describes the district as serving Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Washington, Sedgwick, Yuma, and Kit Carson counties across 11,432 square miles, and calls it the single largest judicial jurisdiction in the United States by land mass. That broad district structure explains why many judges, prosecutors, defenders, and court contacts are regional rather than Sedgwick-only.
District Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court for Sedgwick County. It handles felony criminal cases, civil cases beyond county-court limits, domestic relations, juvenile, probate, mental health, and appeals from County Court. Sedgwick County also has County Court functions in the same combined court setting. County Court is the limited-jurisdiction state trial court for misdemeanors, traffic infractions, small claims, lower civil matters, protection orders, and early stages of felony complaints.
Sedgwick Combined Court
315 Cedar Street
Julesburg, CO 80737
970-474-3627
Fax: 970-458-7755
SedgwickClerksOffice@judicial.state.co.us
Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Sedgwick County District Court Table
Sedgwick County does not have a list of multiple numbered district court buildings. The court record map instead identifies one local combined court location, with district judges serving across the 13th Judicial District and a county judge assigned to Sedgwick County. The table below follows the required court-table format while reflecting the real local structure: one courthouse, combined state trial court functions, and district-level judicial coverage.
| Court | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick District Court | District Court at Sedgwick Combined Court | 315 Cedar Street, Julesburg, CO 80737 | 970-474-3627 |
| Sedgwick County Court | County Court at Sedgwick Combined Court | 315 Cedar Street, Julesburg, CO 80737 | 970-474-3627 |
| Clerk of Court contact | Judicial Branch records and jury contact | Same combined court location | SedgwickClerksOffice@judicial.state.co.us |
District Court vs County Court
Colorado's court hierarchy matters for every Sedgwick County case lookup. A felony, divorce, probate, juvenile, mental health, or major civil case is not searched the same way as a traffic infraction or small claim, even if both can point to the same courthouse. Municipal courts are separate local ordinance courts where a municipality operates one, but no official Sedgwick County municipal court web portal was located in the sources reviewed.
| Point | District Court | County Court | Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | General-jurisdiction state trial court | Limited-jurisdiction state trial court | Municipal ordinance court where a town operates one |
| Criminal cases | Felony criminal cases and related major proceedings | Misdemeanors, traffic, and early felony stages | Local ordinance violations if applicable |
| Civil and family | Major civil, domestic relations, probate, juvenile, mental health | Small claims and lower civil matters | Not the main source for state family or probate cases |
| Record source | Colorado Judicial Branch and Clerk of Court | Colorado Judicial Branch and Clerk of Court | Issuing municipality or court, if one applies |
Sedgwick County District Judges
The official Judicial Branch staff page lists several District Court judges for the 13th Judicial District rather than a single Sedgwick-only district judge. Chief Judge Carl S. McGuire III is listed for Division B and district-wide coverage. Other district judges listed in the research include Matthew W. E. Bradley, Dina M. Christiansen, Stevie M.G. Gagliano, Robert C. James, and Kimbra L. Killin. Myka M. Landry is listed as the Sedgwick County Court Judge for Division 5, with local contact through Sedgwick Combined Court.
Court administration is also district-wide. Jennifer Elliott is listed as Court Executive for the 13th Judicial District. Kathy Browning is listed as Clerk of Court and Jury Commissioner for Phillips County and Sedgwick County. This regional structure is normal for a rural district that covers seven counties and a large land area. It also means that a case caption, division assignment, docket listing, or staff contact may identify a judge or office outside Julesburg while still being a Sedgwick County case.
The 13th Judicial District Attorney's office is one district-level partner. Its official home page identifies the prosecution office for the seven-county district.
The prosecutor's district role helps explain why felony, misdemeanor, and traffic prosecutions may involve regional contacts.
Sedgwick County Case Movement
Case movement depends on case type. A felony case may begin with arrest, bond, advisement, complaint, preliminary stages, filing of information, arraignment, pretrial hearings, plea or trial, sentencing, and appeal. A civil case may begin with a complaint or petition, service, answer, motions, hearing, trial or judgment, post-judgment enforcement, and appeal. Domestic, juvenile, probate, and mental health matters have their own filing and privacy rules, but they still move through court filings, orders, hearings, and docket entries.
Criminal flow: Arrest or summons › First appearance › Complaint or information › Arraignment › Pretrial hearings › Plea or trial › Disposition › Sentencing › Appeal.
Civil and family flow: Petition or complaint filed › Service › Answer or response › Motions and orders › Hearing or trial › Judgment or decree › Post-judgment activity › Appeal.
For records, the docket search can show leads such as hearings and case class. The record request form is used for copies of pleadings, orders, dispositions, decrees, probate letters, and the Register of Action. A Register of Action is a brief case summary that may include charges, sentences, and minute orders.
Search Sedgwick County District Court Records
District Court records can be searched first through the Colorado Judicial Branch docket search. Choose the 13th Judicial District, Sedgwick County, and Sedgwick Combined Court. Select District Court when the case is clearly a felony, divorce, probate, juvenile, major civil, or other District Court matter. Use Both if the court level is unclear. The docket search requires a date plus one other filter, so a party name, attorney name, business name, case number pieces, or court location should be used with the date filter.
Full documents should be requested through the Judicial Branch Record/Document Request Form. The form includes case types such as child custody, civil, divorce, felony, juvenile, misdemeanor, probate, protection order, small claims, traffic, and water. It also includes requested document categories for family, criminal, civil, probate, other, certification, and exemplification. Fees can include copy charges, certified copy charges, name search fees, actual off-site retrieval, and research or redaction after the first hour.
- Start with docket search for a hearing lead, case number, date, or case class.
- Select the 13th Judicial District, Sedgwick County, and Sedgwick Combined Court.
- Choose District Court or Both based on the case type.
- Use the record request form for documents, certified copies, decrees, dispositions, probate letters, and Register of Action requests.
- Provide party names, filing year, case number if known, and date of birth when useful for identification.
- Expect restrictions for juvenile, sealed, probate, mental health, and protected personal information.
District Court Prosecution and Defense
The 13th Judicial District Attorney prosecutes felonies, misdemeanors, and some traffic offenses in the district's courts. The DA about page describes the seven-county jurisdiction and states that the office prosecutes cases in the courts where its jurisdiction is set by the legislature. The DA is not the custodian of Sedgwick County District Court records, but the office's charging and prosecution work may appear in criminal case files as complaints, information, hearing entries, plea records, disposition orders, and sentencing orders.
The Colorado State Public Defender's Sterling office serves Sedgwick County for eligible criminal defendants. Its official listing gives 124 N 2nd St, Sterling, CO 80751, phone (970) 522-5032, fax (970) 522-7570, and email Sterling@coloradodefenders.us. The public defender is not a public-records office. It is relevant to district court because appointed counsel may appear in felony and other criminal case dockets for people who qualify financially.
The 13th Judicial District Attorney about page describes the district scope and prosecution role.
Those district facts support the Sedgwick County District Court context without changing the court-record custodian.
Sedgwick County Court History
The courthouse history gives Sedgwick County District Court more local context than a generic court listing. Sedgwick County was established in 1889, named for Fort Sedgwick, and covers 549 square miles in northeastern Colorado along the South Platte River. The county borders Nebraska's Deuel and Perkins Counties and Colorado's Phillips and Logan Counties. The county homepage describes agriculture as the main economic driver of the small community.
The National Park Service NPGallery record identifies the Sedgwick County Courthouse as National Register Information System ID 07000345 and ties it to the New Deal Resources on Colorado's Eastern Plains multiple-property listing. National Register material states that the courthouse was built in 1938-1939, designed by W. Gordon Jamieson and R. Ewing Stiffler, and associated with late nineteenth- and twentieth-century revival and WPA Art Deco design. The same building now centralizes court, clerk, sheriff, treasurer, assessor, commissioner, and communications functions in different suites.
The Sterling Public Defender office page confirms public defender service for Sedgwick County and neighboring 13th Judicial District counties.
The public defender source rounds out the local District Court picture by showing defense coverage for eligible criminal defendants.
Sedgwick County District Court Limits
Not every record connected to the courthouse is a District Court record. Marriage licenses and recorded documents belong to the County Clerk & Recorder. Sheriff's police records, jail fees, bonds, and some traffic enforcement records belong to the sheriff. Driver history, points, suspensions, and motor vehicle records belong to Colorado DMV. Federal cases belong to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado or federal bankruptcy court, not Sedgwick Combined Court.
Some District Court records are restricted. Juvenile, sealed, expunged, probate, adoption, mental health, and protected personal information can be withheld or redacted. Chief Justice Directive 05-01 governs access to Colorado court records and seeks to balance reasonable access with privacy interests. The Clerk of Court can require ID or limit release when statutes, rules, directives, or local orders require it.