Attorney General Opinion No.

The Honorable Terry Bullock Administrative Judge Third Judicial District Shawnee County Courthouse Topeka, Kansas 66603-3922

Dear Judge Bullock:

You request our opinion concerning whether a district court may enter into a contingency fee contract with a private collection agency to collect unpaid court costs, fines, attorney fees (for representation of indigent misdemeanant defendants) and restitution. Because there are no statutes or supreme court rules that address this issue, we analyze it in terms of whether the court has the inherent power to enter into such a contract.

K.S.A. 22-3801(a)…