The Kentucky Circuit Courts are the
state courts of
general jurisdiction in the
U.S. state of
Kentucky .
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.
Number of judges in each circuit. 1 2 3 4 5 6 or more
[a]
First Circuit –
Ballard ,
Carlisle ,
Fulton ,
Hickman
Second Circuit –
McCracken
Third Circuit –
Christian
Fourth Circuit –
Hopkins
Fifth Circuit –
Crittenden ,
Webster ,
Union
Sixth Circuit –
Daviess
Seventh Circuit –
Logan ,
Todd
Eighth Circuit –
Edmonson ,
Warren
Ninth Circuit –
Hardin
Tenth Circuit –
Hart ,
LaRue ,
Nelson
Eleventh Circuit –
Green ,
Marion ,
Taylor ,
Washington
Twelfth Circuit –
Henry ,
Oldham ,
Trimble
Thirteenth Circuit –
Garrard ,
Jessamine
Fourteenth Circuit –
Bourbon ,
Scott ,
Woodford
Fifteenth Circuit –
Carroll ,
Grant ,
Owen
Sixteenth Circuit –
Kenton
Seventeenth Circuit –
Campbell
Eighteenth Circuit –
Harrison ,
Nicholas ,
Pendleton ,
Robertson
Nineteenth Circuit –
Bracken ,
Fleming ,
Mason
Twentieth Circuit –
Greenup ,
Lewis
Twenty-first Circuit –
Bath ,
Menifee ,
Montgomery ,
Rowan
Twenty-second Circuit –
Fayette
Twenty-third Circuit –
Estill ,
Lee ,
Owsley
Twenty-fourth Circuit –
Johnson ,
Lawrence ,
Martin
Twenty-fifth Circuit –
Clark ,
Madison
Twenty-sixth Circuit –
Harlan
Twenty-seventh Circuit –
Knox ,
Laurel
Twenty-eighth Circuit –
Lincoln ,
Pulaski ,
Rockcastle
Twenty-ninth Circuit –
Adair ,
Casey
Thirtieth Circuit –
Jefferson -
Jefferson County Circuit Court
Thirty-first Circuit –
Floyd
Thirty-second Circuit –
Boyd
Thirty-third Circuit –
Perry
Thirty-fourth Circuit –
McCreary ,
Whitley
Thirty-fifth Circuit –
Pike
Thirty-sixth Circuit –
Knott ,
Magoffin
Thirty-seventh Circuit –
Carter ,
Elliott ,
Morgan
Thirty-eighth Circuit –
Butler ,
Hancock ,
Ohio
Thirty-ninth Circuit –
Breathitt ,
Powell ,
Wolfe
Fortieth Circuit –
Clinton ,
Cumberland ,
Monroe
Forty-first Circuit –
Clay ,
Jackson ,
Leslie
Forty-second Circuit –
Calloway ,
Marshall
Forty-third Circuit –
Barren ,
Metcalfe
Forty-fourth Circuit –
Bell
Forty-fifth Circuit –
McLean ,
Muhlenberg
Forty-sixth Circuit –
Breckinridge ,
Grayson ,
Meade
Forty-seventh Circuit –
Letcher
Forty-eighth Circuit –
Franklin
Forty-ninth Circuit –
Allen ,
Simpson
Fiftieth Circuit –
Boyle ,
Mercer
Fifty-first Circuit –
Henderson
Fifty-second Circuit –
Graves
Fifty-third Circuit –
Anderson ,
Shelby ,
Spencer
Fifty-fourth Circuit –
Boone ,
Gallatin
Fifty-fifth Circuit –
Bullitt
Fifty-sixth Circuit –
Caldwell ,
Livingston ,
Lyon ,
Trigg
Fifty-seventh Circuit –
Russell ,
Wayne
Notes
^ Kenton County has 6 judges, Fayette County has 9 judges, and Jefferson County has 23 judges.
References
External links