Courts in the Commonwealth

There are four levels of court in Kentucky.The appellate courts include the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. The trial courts are divided into Circuit Court, which has general jurisdiction, and District Court, which has limited jurisdiction. Kentucky’s four-tier court system was established by the passage of the Judicial Article to the Kentucky Constitution in 1975, which went into effect July 15, 1976. The Judicial Article created the Court of Justice as an independent branch of government separate from the Executive and Legislative branches and from local county and city governments.

Kentucky’s trial courts first hear the facts and issue judgments on those facts. Appeals courts may be asked to review the judgment of another court to see if a mistake was made. An appeals court generally cannot hear any new evidence and must rule on what was presented to the trial court. Kentuckians have the right to one appeal per lawsuit. Beyond this one "matter of right" appeal, further appeals are discretionary and the appellate court may refuse to review such cases.

Supreme Court -The Supreme Court is the state court of last resort and the final interpreter of Kentucky law. The Supreme Court may order a ruling or opinion "to be published," meaning that the ruling becomes the case law governing all similar cases in the future in Kentucky.

Appeals involving the death penalty, life imprisonment or imprisonment for 20 years or more go directly from Circuit Court to the Supreme Court. All other appeals must first be heard by the Court of Appeals, except those so exceptional that the Supreme Court will grant a request to bypass the Court of Appeals. Appeals from the Court of Appeals, except workers’ compensation appeals, reach the Supreme Court only with the court’s permission.

Seven justices sit on the Supreme Court and all seven justices rule on appeals before the court. The justices are elected from seven appellate districts and serve eight-year terms. A chief justice, chosen for a four-year term by fellow justices, is the administrative head of the state’s court system and is responsible for its operation. In addition, the Supreme Court establishes rules of practice and procedure for all Kentucky judges and attorneys.

Court of Appeals - With a few exceptions, most cases appealed from Circuit Court go to the Court of Appeals. Nearly all cases go to the Court of Appeals on appeal of a trial decision of the Circuit Court or on appeal of a decision of the Circuit Court of a District Court judgment.

The case is not retried at the appeals level. Instead, the original trial record is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision. Fourteen judges, two elected from each of the seven appellate districts, serve on the Court of Appeals for terms of eight years.

Court of Appeals judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority deciding the outcome. The panels do not sit permanently in one location, but move about the state to hear appeals. The Court of Appeals occasionally "publishes" its rulings on cases, such that those rulings become the governing case law for all such similar cases in the trial courts of Kentucky.

Circuit - Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction and can hear all types of cases unless the General Assembly has given exclusive juris-diction of particular kinds of cases to another court to handle, such as District Court.

Circuit Court hears civil matters involving more than $4,000, capital offenses and felonies, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, land dispute title problems and contested probates of will. Circuit Court has the power to issue injunctions and writs of prohibition and mandamus to compel or prohibit acts, and to hear appeals from District Court and administrative agencies.

Judicial circuits vary in size and number of judges based on population and caseload, from single-county, multiple judges to four-county districts served by one judge who travels the circuit. Circuit judges may be assisted by master commissioners on property matters and by domestic relations commissioners on divorce and custody matters in counties with no Family Court. Appeals from Circuit Court are made to the Court of Appeals.

Circuit judges serve eight-year terms.

Family Court
Family Court is a division of Circuit Court and became a permanent part of the court system when the Family Court Amendment was overwhelmingly passed in the 2002 general election.

Family Court judges are judges of the Circuit Court. Family Court hears only cases involving families and children and its jurisdiction includes dissolution of marriage; spousal support and equitable distribution; child support and visitation; paternity; adoption; domestic violence; dependency, neglect and abuse; termination of parental rights; and runaways and truancy (status offenses). Appeals from Family Court are made to the Court of Appeals.

Today Family Court serves nearly 2 million Kentuckians in 42 counties and the program is considered a national model. There are plans to implement Family Court in all 120 counties within 10 years of the passage of the amendment, as funding allows.

As Circuit Court judges, Family Court judges serve eight-year terms.
 

District - District Court, often referred to as "the people’s court," has limited jurisdiction. "Limited jurisdiction" means District Court may handle those kinds of cases the Kentucky General Assembly has, by statute, said may be heard in District Court. Juvenile matters, city and county ordinances, traffic offenses, probates of will, felony preliminary hearings and civil cases involving $4,000 or less are all heard in this court. Cases involving guard-ianship, conservatorship, voluntary or involuntary commitment, child abuse and neglect, and domestic violence are also heard in District Court. Appeals from District Court decisions are made to the local Circuit Court.

Judicial districts vary in size and number of judges based on population and caseload. Judicial districts vary from single-county, multiple judges to four-county districts served by a single district judge who travels the district hearing cases. There may also be trial commissioners appointed to handle emergency or preliminary judicial duties, particularly where a judge does not reside in a county.

District judges serve four-year terms.

"Specialty Courts" are actually divisions of either District Court or Circuit Court which collect and hear cases of a particular type to improve case management, either for reasons of efficiency or to provide special services or attention to those kinds of cases.

Small Claims Court (District Court)
Small claims is a division of District Court. It is an informal, inexpensive means for people to file claims in disputes that involve money or personal property valued at $1,500 or less. Parties involved in small claims actions can represent themselves without an attorney.

Juvenile Court (District Court)
Juvenile Court is a division of District Court. Cases involving children under the age of 18 are handled in Juvenile Court. Cases filed in Juvenile Court include dependency; neglect and abuse; status offenders, such as runaways; children who are consistently tardy from school and those who have behavioral problems or are beyond adult control; and public offenders (delinquency), which include children charged with misdemeanors and felonies. In jurisdictions where there is a Family Court division of Circuit Court, the Family Court will hear matters of dependent, neglected and/or abused children, as well as status offenses when no public offense is pending. All other juvenile matters remain within the jurisdiction of Juvenile (District) Court.

Children charged with more serious felonies, such as rape or murder, may be transferred from Juvenile Court to Circuit Court to be tried as adults and, if convicted, imprisoned first in a juvenile facility and later in an adult prison.

In most cases, the first contact the child has with delinquency proceedings is through a court designated worker (CDW). CDWs interview children, review charges filed against them and advise the children of their rights. Unlike other District Court and Circuit Court hearings, which are open to the public, Juvenile Court hearings are closed to the public. However, once a juvenile has been transferred to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult, those Circuit Court proceedings as open to the public as any other Circuit Court criminal proceeding.

Drug Court (Circuit, Family and District Courts)
Drug Court is a form of intensive judicial supervision of individuals with drug problems. Instead of immediate incarceration for drug use, Drug Court participants must regularly report before the judge regarding compliance with a drug rehabilitation program.

Drug Court has had a significant impact on reducing rearrest, reconviction and reincar-ceration rates. The program has saved the Commonwealth more than $14.5 million for the first 1,000 Drug Court graduates, based on outcome evaluations. Drug Court is supported by federal and state funds.