Title IV, Judicial Branch

(1) The District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction; it has original jurisdiction in all matters specified in KRS 24A.110 to 24A.130. (2) The District Court may be authorized by law to adjudicate the actions or decisions of local administrative agencies, special districts, …

When jurisdiction over any matter is granted to District Court by statute, such jurisdiction shall be deemed to be exclusive unless the statute specifically states that the jurisdiction shall be concurrent.

The state is divided into judicial districts, each to be composed of the following counties: (1) First Judicial District. Ballard, Carlisle, Fulton, and Hickman. (2) Second Judicial District. McCracken. (3) Third Judicial District. Christian. (4) Fourth Judicial District. Hopkins…

Each judicial district shall have one (1) District Judge, except as otherwise provided.

(Effective until January 1, 2031) The following judicial districts are entitled to two (2) District Judges and shall have two (2) numbered divisions of the District Court: (1) Second Judicial District. (2) Third Judicial District. (3) Fourth Judicial District. (4) Ninth Judicial …

The following judicial districts are entitled to three (3) District Judges and shall have three (3) numbered divisions of the District Court: (1) Sixth Judicial District. (2) Eighth Judicial District. (3) Sixteenth Judicial District. (4) Twenty-fifth Judicial District.

The Twenty-second Judicial District is entitled to five (5) District Judges and shall have five (5) numbered divisions of the District Court.

The Thirtieth Judicial District is entitled to seventeen (17) District Judges and shall have seventeen (17) numbered divisions of the District Court.

(1) In any county which does not have a District Judge resident in the county there shall be a trial commissioner. (2) Trial commissioners shall be appointed in the manner required by Section 113 of the Constitution of Kentucky and shall perform such duties as may be directed by …

(1) The District Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to make final disposition of all criminal matters, including violations of county, urban-county, or city ordinances or codes, except: (a) Offenses denominated by statute as felonies or capital offenses; and (b) Offenses pun…

District Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in: (1) Civil cases in which the amount in controversy does not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), exclusive of interest and costs, except matters affecting title to real estate and matters of equity; however, nothing herein sh…

The juvenile jurisdiction of District Court shall be exclusive in all cases relating to minors in which jurisdiction is not vested by law in some other court.

arrangements with other law enforcement officers or agencies. (1) When sessions of District Court are held in: (a) The county courthouse or other county-owned facility; (b) Urban-county facilities; (c) State-owned, leased, or controlled facilities; (d) Special district facilities…

established by city of second or third class. If a person covered by a pension plan established under KRS 26.650 or 26.653 is elected as a District Judge before January 1, 1978, the provisions of subsections (2) to (5) of KRS 61.527 shall be carried out by the governing body of a…

(1) The Supreme Court shall by rule set the filing fees and miscellaneous costs for civil cases filed in the District Court. (2) The following fee shall be paid directly to the sheriff or other officer serving the process by the party requesting the service, at the time of the re…

Exceptions -- Treatment of minor defendant. (1) Court costs for a criminal case in the District Court shall be one hundred dollars ($100), regardless of whether the offense is one for which prepayment is permitted. (2) There shall be no court costs for a parking citation when: (a…

governments and counties -- Funds used for police, jails, and transport of prisoners. (1) For the purposes of this section: (a) "Local government" means a city, county, charter county, urban-county, or consolidated local government; and (b) "Police department" means a police depa…

telephonic behavioral health jail triage system. In addition to the twenty dollar ($20) fee created by KRS 24A.176, in criminal cases a ten dollar ($10) fee shall be added to the costs imposed by KRS 24A.175 that the defendant is required to pay. The first five dollars ($5) of ea…

In criminal cases, the following fees shall be charged by the circuit clerk and paid to the clerk at the time the corresponding services are requested: (1) Preparing an attestation ...................................................................................... $0.50 (2) Pr…

(1) In addition to fees created by KRS 24A.175, 24A.176, and 24A.1765, an administrative fee of thirty dollars ($30) shall be added to the costs that the defendant is required to pay for the following crimes: (a) A sex crime, meaning an offense described in: 1. KRS Chapter 510; 2…

Task Force. In addition to the twenty dollar ($20) fee created by KRS 24A.176 and the ten dollar ($10) fee created by KRS 24A.1765, a ten dollar ($10) fee shall be added in misdemeanor cases to the costs imposed by KRS 24A.175. The fee collected under this section shall be alloca…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section all fees and costs collected pursuant to KRS 24A.170(1) shall be deposited in the general fund of the State Treasury. (2) Fees consisting of reimbursement for incidental direct outlays, including but not limited to postage …

A fiscal court, by ordinance, may assess additional fees and costs for the purpose of paying expenses for courthouses, bonds related to them, and administration expenses of the District Court as follows: (1) In all traffic offense cases, a fee of ten dollars ($10) may be added to…

All courts shall report convictions under KRS 186.560 to the Transportation Cabinet.

In any judicial district where a family court is established or has been established, the position of domestic relations commissioner is abolished, and no commissioner shall be appointed to hear or determine any matter within the jurisdiction of the family court.

The purpose of KRS 24A.200 to 24A.360 is to improve the administration of justice in small noncriminal cases, and make the judicial system more available and comprehensible to the public; to simplify practice and procedure in the commencement, handling, and trial of such cases in…

As used in KRS 24A.200 to 24A.360, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Division" means the small claims division of District Court; (2) "Party" means any person, natural or otherwise, who has been a party to the transaction in dispute; (3) "Clerk" means the clerk of the C…

A small claims division of each District Court shall be established by the first Monday of January, 1978.

(1) The small claims division shall have jurisdiction, concurrent with that of the District Court, in all civil actions, other than libel, slander, alienation of affections, malicious prosecution and abuse of process actions, when the amount of money or damages or the value of th…

as parties. (1) The appearance of an attorney-at-law on behalf of any party is permitted but not required. (2) No party may file an assigned claim or a class action in the division. (3) No person, firm, partnership, association, or corporation engaged, either primarily or seconda…

Exception. (1) No party shall file more than twenty-five (25) claims in any one (1) calendar year in the small claims division of any District Court in the Commonwealth. Any business engaged in trade or commerce shall be entitled to the maximum number of claims allowed under this…

(1) The plaintiff shall commence an action in the small claims division by filing a claim on a form provided by the clerk. (2) The plaintiff may bring an action in the small claims division in the judicial district where the party defendant or his agent resides or is doing busine…

The filing fee in the small claims division of the District Court shall be the same as the filing fee for claims of five hundred dollars ($500) or less filed in the District Court, except where personal service is not required pursuant to KRS 24A.280(2), the sheriff's fee and mil…

(1) The court shall set a time for hearing. The hearing time set shall be not less than twenty (20) days nor more than forty (40) days after service of process. (2) The clerk shall notify the defendant of the claim and his right to appear by sending the defendant a copy of the cl…

The defendant may file with the clerk a counterclaim against the plaintiff in an amount not in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) exclusive of interest and costs, if the counterclaim arose out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of t…

(1) No formal pleadings other than the claim and notice, and the counterclaim and notice, if appropriate, shall be required in the division. (2) All forms provided in KRS 24A.200 to 24A.360 shall be of a simplified, nontechnical form. (3) There shall be no pretrial discovery in t…

small claims division. (1) An action shall be removed from the small claims division to the regular docket of District or Circuit Court as appropriate whenever the defendant's counterclaim exceeds the jurisdictional limit of the division or the District Court. (2) An action shall…

requested. (1) All claims in the small claims division shall be tried without a jury. Upon filing a claim, the plaintiff shall be deemed to have waived his right to a jury trial in the division. This waiver shall be explained on the claim form provided by the clerk. (2) If the de…

The hearing and disposition of all matters in the small claims division shall be informal.

Any party aggrieved by the judgment of the small claims division may appeal within ten (10) days of the judgment to the Circuit Court in the judicial circuit where such division is located.

(1) The Attorney General shall prepare an informational pamphlet or suitable material in layman's language explaining the jurisdiction of the small claims division, procedures followed by the division, rights and responsibilities of parties to proceedings in the division, and oth…

KRS 24A.200 to 24A.360 shall be known and may be cited as the "Small Claims Act".