Kentucky Criminal Records - The Three Kinds of Courts

Kentucky criminal records are documentation that has arisen from any of the Circuit Courts or specialty courts in the state of Kentucky. There are three specialty courts–the small claims court, juvenile court and the drug court. All of these specialty courts can be part of a larger District or Circuit Court in Kentucky.

Kentucky criminal records can be found in either the Circuit Court or the Supreme Court. It all depends on the magnitude of the case and the nature of the court decision. Since Kentucky criminal records can be publicly accessible, the state of Kentucky has made it more convenient for everyone by allowing online access to them.

KY Criminal Records - Which Court Should You Go To?

The state of Kentucky is located in the Southern United States or sometimes, it is also known to be part of the Midwest. The court of last resort in Kentucky is the Supreme Court and the intermediate appellate court is the Court of Appeals. The rest of the court cases in the state of Kentucky are handled by the District and Circuit Courts. One of the things that is unique in Kentucky is that the judges presiding over the courts are elected instead of being appointed.

The Supreme Court has the option to publish a ruling, setting a precedent for all future cases that are tried in the state of Kentucky. For criminal cases that involve the death penalty, lifetime imprisonment or incarceration for more than twenty years, the cases have to go directly from the Circuit Courts to the Supreme Court.

There are also three kinds of specialty courts in Kentucky. First is the small claims court which tries cases involving small amounts of money, up to about $1500. Second is the juvenile court, which specifically tries cases involving individuals below the age of 18. To protect the privacy of the individuals, court records of juvenile court cases are kept confidential. If the individual is tried as an adult, the criminal records will be made available to the public. The third kind of specialty court in Kentucky is the drug court, which is exclusive for those cases involving drugs and aims to rehabilitate those who are convicted. Graduates of the drug court are expected to complete a program that was funded with federal aid and is intended to create a new drug free life for the convict.

The Research and Reference section of the website of the Kentucky Court of Justice allows you to get court opinions based on cases that were tried in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the District and Circuit Courts. Aside from the Kentucky criminal records, the local rules in practice are also accessible on the same website.

Useful Kentucky Criminal Records Link:

Kentucky Court of Justice

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