Kentucky Circuit Courts

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The Kentucky Circuit Courts are the state courts of general jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

Contents

Jurisdiction and bench

The Circuit Courts are trial courts with original jurisdiction in cases involving capital offenses and other felonies; land disputes; contested probates of wills; and civil lawsuits in disputes with an amount in controversy over $5,000. Circuit courts also have the power to issue injunctions, writs of prohibition, writs of mandamus, and appeals from the decisions of administrative agencies.

Circuit Courts also hear appeals from the District Courts, which in Kentucky are courts of limited jurisdiction that hear misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic violations, violations of county and municipal ordinances and small claims.

The family court division of Circuit Court has original jurisdiction in cases involving dissolution of marriage (divorce), child custody, visitation, maintenance and support (alimony and child support), equitable distribution of property in dissolution cases; adoption, and termination of parental rights. The family court division has concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court over proceedings involving domestic violence and abuse, the Uniform Parentage Act and Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, dependency, child abuse and neglect, and juvenile status offenses.

In 2019, the Kentucky Supreme Court created a Business Court Docket Pilot project in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, effective January 1, 2020. [1]

Circuit judges serve in eight-year terms. There are 57 circuits, which may have one or more judges, depending on the population and docket size. Circuits may include one or more counties; some have up to four. The Jefferson County Circuit Court is the largest single unified trial court in Kentucky. [2] [3]

Appeals from decisions of the Circuit Courts are made to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the state intermediate appellate court, which may be further appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court. (Criminal cases in which a defendant has been sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of 20 years or more are taken directly to the Kentucky Supreme Court.)

Circuits

Current circuits of the circuit courts. Kentucky Circuit Courts.svg
Current circuits of the circuit courts.
Number of judges in each circuit. 1 2 3 4 5 6 or more Kentucky Circuit Courts Judges.svg
Number of judges in each circuit.
     1
     2
     3
     4
     5
     6 or more
  1. First Circuit – Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton, Hickman
  2. Second Circuit – McCracken
  3. Third Circuit – Christian
  4. Fourth Circuit – Hopkins
  5. Fifth Circuit – Crittenden, Webster, Union
  6. Sixth Circuit – Daviess
  7. Seventh Circuit – Logan, Todd
  8. Eighth Circuit – Edmonson, Warren
  9. Ninth Circuit – Hardin
  10. Tenth Circuit – Hart, LaRue, Nelson
  11. Eleventh Circuit – Green, Marion, Taylor, Washington
  12. Twelfth Circuit – Henry, Oldham, Trimble
  13. Thirteenth Circuit – Garrard, Jessamine
  14. Fourteenth Circuit – Bourbon, Scott, Woodford
  15. Fifteenth Circuit – Carroll, Grant, Owen
  16. Sixteenth Circuit – Kenton
  17. Seventeenth Circuit – Campbell
  18. Eighteenth Circuit – Harrison, Nicholas, Pendleton, Robertson
  19. Nineteenth Circuit – Bracken, Fleming, Mason
  20. Twentieth Circuit – Greenup, Lewis
  21. Twenty-first Circuit – Bath, Menifee, Montgomery, Rowan
  22. Twenty-second Circuit – Fayette
  23. Twenty-third Circuit – Estill, Lee, Owsley
  24. Twenty-fourth Circuit – Johnson, Lawrence, Martin
  25. Twenty-fifth Circuit – Clark, Madison
  26. Twenty-sixth Circuit – Harlan
  27. Twenty-seventh Circuit – Knox, Laurel
  28. Twenty-eighth Circuit – Lincoln, Pulaski, Rockcastle
  29. Twenty-ninth Circuit – Adair, Casey
  30. Thirtieth Circuit – Jefferson - Jefferson County Circuit Court
  31. Thirty-first Circuit – Floyd
  32. Thirty-second Circuit – Boyd
  33. Thirty-third Circuit – Perry
  34. Thirty-fourth Circuit – McCreary, Whitley
  35. Thirty-fifth Circuit – Pike
  36. Thirty-sixth Circuit – Knott, Magoffin
  37. Thirty-seventh Circuit – Carter, Elliott, Morgan
  38. Thirty-eighth Circuit – Butler, Hancock, Ohio
  39. Thirty-ninth Circuit – Breathitt, Powell, Wolfe
  40. Fortieth Circuit – Clinton, Cumberland, Monroe
  41. Forty-first Circuit – Clay, Jackson, Leslie
  42. Forty-second Circuit – Calloway, Marshall
  43. Forty-third Circuit – Barren, Metcalfe
  44. Forty-fourth Circuit – Bell
  45. Forty-fifth Circuit – McLean, Muhlenberg
  46. Forty-sixth Circuit – Breckinridge, Grayson, Meade
  47. Forty-seventh Circuit – Letcher
  48. Forty-eighth Circuit – Franklin
  49. Forty-ninth Circuit – Allen, Simpson
  50. Fiftieth Circuit – Boyle, Mercer
  51. Fifty-first Circuit – Henderson
  52. Fifty-second Circuit – Graves
  53. Fifty-third Circuit – Anderson, Shelby, Spencer
  54. Fifty-fourth Circuit – Boone, Gallatin
  55. Fifty-fifth Circuit – Bullitt
  56. Fifty-sixth Circuit – Caldwell, Livingston, Lyon, Trigg
  57. Fifty-seventh Circuit – Russell, Wayne

Notes

  1. ↑ Kenton County has 6 judges, Fayette County has 9 judges, and Jefferson County has 23 judges.

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References

  1. ↑ "Business Court - Kentucky Court of Justice". www.kycourts.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  2. ↑ "Office of Jefferson Circuit Court Clerk". Office of Jefferson Circuit Court Clerk. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Louisville Bar Association - Guide to Courts". Louisville Bar Association. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
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