In Kentucky, there is a limited jurisdiction court, a general jurisdiction trial court, and appellate courts. The appellate courts consist of the Court of Appeals and the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The District Court is a limited jurisdiction court that handles ordinances, traffic offenses, juvenile matters, misdemeanors, probate, arraignments, felony hearings, small claims, civil cases under $5,000, mental commitments, and domestic violence cases.
The Circuit Court is the general jurisdiction trial court, responsible for civil cases over $5,000, felonies, land title disputes, and contested probate cases. The Circuit Court has a Family Court division to handle divorce, child custody, adoption, and domestic violence cases. Kentucky is divided into 57 judicial circuits, each having a Circuit Court.
Kentucky makes District and Circuit Court case and docket information available online, but only for active and pending cases. To research closed cases, contact the Clerk of Court in the appropriate county or circuit. Use the resources below for Circuit and District Court calendars and active case records; divorces; judgments; Supreme and Appellate Court opinions and dockets; and federal U.S. District court records.
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| Court Dockets | Circuit and District Courts Select a county to search Kentucky Court of Justice Circuit or District county court dockets for the coming week. |
| Court Records Kentucky Civil, Criminal, and Drug Court case records statewide or by county. |
| Court Dockets | Supreme Court Kentucky Supreme Court dockets by attorney name, case number, circuit case or litigant. |
| Court Opinions | Court of Appeals Kentucky Court of Justice published opinions from the Court of Appeals. |
| Court Opinions | Supreme Court Kentucky Court of Justice database of published opinions from the Kentucky Supreme Court. |
| Court Records | Federal Eastern District Bankruptcy Pay Site United States Eastern District Court of Kentucky bankruptcy records, dockets, documents, debtors, and creditor records. PACER account required. |
| Court Records | Federal Eastern District Civil & Criminal Pay Site Eastern U.S. District Court of Kentucky Federal civil & criminal court records. PACER account required. |
| Court Records | Federal Western District Bankruptcy Pay Site U.S. Western District Court of Kentucky bankruptcy records, documents, debtors, dockets, and creditors. PACER account required. |
| Court Records | Federal Western District Civil & Criminal Pay Site U.S. Western District Court of Kentucky civil and criminal case records. Requires PACER account. |
| Judgments, Bankruptcies, Tax Liens Pay Site Search Systems Premium combined database of Kentucky judgments, bankruptcies, and tax liens. $5 per search. |
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