diff --git a/peachjam/migrations/0145_alter_courtregistry_options.py b/peachjam/migrations/0145_alter_courtregistry_options.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..16e8987e2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/peachjam/migrations/0145_alter_courtregistry_options.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+# Generated by Django 3.2.25 on 2024-07-04 14:37
+
+from django.db import migrations
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+
+    dependencies = [
+        ("peachjam", "0144_gazette_special"),
+    ]
+
+    operations = [
+        migrations.AlterModelOptions(
+            name="courtregistry",
+            options={
+                "ordering": ("name",),
+                "verbose_name": "court registry",
+                "verbose_name_plural": "court registries",
+            },
+        ),
+    ]
diff --git a/peachjam/models/judgment.py b/peachjam/models/judgment.py
index 7400009c5..d73e2111e 100644
--- a/peachjam/models/judgment.py
+++ b/peachjam/models/judgment.py
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ class CourtRegistry(models.Model):
     code = models.SlugField(_("code"), max_length=255, null=False, unique=True)
 
     class Meta:
+        ordering = ("name",)
         verbose_name = _("court registry")
         verbose_name_plural = _("court registries")
         unique_together = ("court", "name")
diff --git a/peachjam/views/courts.py b/peachjam/views/courts.py
index 70ca4206e..584531aef 100644
--- a/peachjam/views/courts.py
+++ b/peachjam/views/courts.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 from functools import cached_property
 from itertools import groupby
+from math import ceil
 
 from django.http import Http404
 from django.shortcuts import get_object_or_404
@@ -118,10 +119,16 @@ def get_context_data(self, **kwargs):
         context = super().get_context_data(**kwargs)
         context["court"] = self.court
         context["registry_label_plural"] = CourtRegistry.model_label_plural
-        context["registries"] = self.court.registries.exclude(
+        context["registries"] = registries = self.court.registries.exclude(
             judgments__isnull=True
         )  # display registries with judgments only
-        context["registry_groups"] = list(chunks(context["registries"], 2))
+        # split the list in the middle to have two columns and preserve ordering
+        split_index = ceil(registries.count() / 2)
+        context["registry_groups"] = [
+            registries[:split_index],
+            registries[split_index:],
+        ]
+
         context["all_years_url"] = self.court.get_absolute_url()
         return context