Mar 21, 2025
Judge Courtney A. Wachal
K.C. Municipal Court - Domestic Violence

Courtney graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2001 with Bachelor of Arts degree.  She received her law degree from the University of Kansas in 2004.  

Immediately following her graduation from law school Courtney accepted a position with the Missouri State Public Defender System.  She left the public defender system in 2011 to begin serving as an assistant prosecuting attorney with the City of Kansas City.  In January, 2015, Courtney was appointed by the Mayor Sly James and City Council to serve as Kansas City Municipal Court Judge in Division 203, which has primary jurisdiction over all domestic violence cases filed in municipal court.  

As part of her commitment to offender accountability and victim safety she initiated the compliance docket, a specialized supervised probation docket for high-risk domestic violence offenders.  In October, 2017 the U.S. Department of Justice awarded the Kansas City Domestic Violence Docket a mentor court grant.  The grant is used to instruct other courts from around the nation regarding best practices for offender accountability and victim safety.  Kansas City is the first municipal court in the nation to receive this honor.

In June, 2019, the domestic violence compliance docket developed a drug court track.  This specialized, supervised docket addresses high risk domestic violence offenders with substance use disorders.  The docket is designed to permit domestic violence offenders the therapeutic environment needed to recover from their substance use disorder while simultaneously holding them accountable for their battering behavior.  Kansas City operates the second drug court program specifically for domestic violence offenders in the nation.

In October, 2021 the U.S. Department of Justice awarded the Kansas City Municipal Court a $1 million grant for two early intervention domestic violence programs.  The first is a class required as a condition of bond designed to increase domestic violence awareness with first time offenders.  The second is a Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) docket that provides targeted services for young adult intimate partner violence offenders and their intimate partners.  

In September, 2022, Courtney was appointed as presiding judge of the Kansas City Municipal Court.  Under her term as presiding judge the municipal court debuted it first ever evening and weekend dockets.    

Courtney is Past President of the board of directors for Sheffield Place and currently serves on their advisory board.  She is an ex-officio member the board of directors for the Association for Women Lawyers of Greater Kansas City.  She is a member of the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association.  She is a mentor with the Association for Women Lawyers Foundation Denise Henning Connections Program.