Nicole Ralston

Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts

The Kentucky Judicial Branch – also called the Kentucky Court of Justice – is responsible for providing citizens with equal access to justice as they exercise their constitutional rights and privileges. Nearly 900,000 court cases flow through Kentucky courtrooms each year, affecting millions of citizens. Almost every person will interact with the courts at some point, whether to obtain a driver's license, pursue a small claims case, seek protection from domestic violence, settle an estate, legalize an adoption, finalize a divorce, file a civil case, seek justice in a criminal case or acquire assistance on other matters. There are four levels of Kentucky state courts. The two trial courts, Circuit Court and District Court, first hear the facts and issue judgments on those facts. The two appellate courts, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, may be asked to review the judgment of a lower court to see if a mistake was made. As one of the few unified state court systems in the country, Kentucky provides uniform legal procedures and centralized administrative support statewide. The Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort is the operations arm of the Judicial Branch and supports court facilities and programs in all 120 counties. The AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget, maintains and builds court facilities, manages a statewide case management database, administers personnel policies and payroll, and provides educational programs for judges, circuit court clerks and support staff. The Kentucky Court of Justice is committed to providing fair and equal treatment to its personnel and to the citizens who come before its courts, regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.