Criminal Court Process for Clark County Kentucky

Clark County Kentucky Criminal Court System - Definitions

It might be helpful to define some words that will be used on this site, when explaining the Kentucky Court System and how it works. The definitions on this site are for general information and not legal advice. It is always preferred to follow information given by your attorney or local authorities.

If you scroll down below this content, and the listing of the courts in Clark County, you will find a simple flowchart diagram and a video that will help you visualize the stages of the Criminal Court Process.

Arrest is when Kentucky, Clark County, or local police take a person into custody and start the legal process. The arrested person may or may not be immediately jailed. 

In less serious crimes, the person may only be given a citation ordering that they appear in municipal or Clark County court on a certain date. In cases involving more serious crimes, the person is usually placed in the county jail until an arraignment, or a judge decides the next step.

Booking is when the Clark County sheriff or local police gather information such as the detainee’s name, address and why the person is being arrested. Booking also includes fingerprinting, criminal history, investigation, and verification of identity. Bail for lower-level crimes may be set right after booking so the arrested can “bail or bond out” before being detained.

The prosecution, sometimes called “the government” or “the people” or “the state” is the side that presses the charges and seeks punishment for the offense. These are attorneys that work for the state of Kentucky, Clark County or a city or town.  The prosecuting attorney for Clark County or the district is called the Commonwealth’s Attorney.  A U.S. Attorney prosecutes federal cases.  

Jurisdiction is an important term in the court system that means whether a court has the obligation or duty or right to handle a case.  For example, if you run a red light in your town or city, a municipal court would likely have jurisdiction over your case, but the next town or city over would not have jurisdiction over your case.  If you attempted to flee from police when they attempted to stop you after you ran the red light, it becomes a more serious crime, and the municipal court might not have jurisdiction so you might be assigned to a higher-level court that has jurisdiction over the more serious crime.  Jurisdiction varies from state to state and sometimes county to county.

Arraignment is when a judge determines whether the charges are supported by the prosecution’s initial evidence and tells the arrested what they are charged with, and the person says whether they are guilty or not guilty. At this time, the person is called the defendant, and the opposing side is called the prosecution. If there is reason to believe that the arrested is guilty, the judge will set bail conditions or send the defendant to jail or release them ROR (release on recognizances). An arraignment is not a trial, and the defendant is entitled to a trial within a reasonable amount of time after the arraignment.

A bond proceeding is the determination of how much bail is to be paid and usually happens at the same time as an arraignment. During bond proceedings, the defendant can have an attorney present but does not have the right to an attorney. A judge or court officer in the {county extended} or municipal court sets bail. Judges in Kentucky rely on a statewide bail schedule, which sets out a recommended range of bail amounts for different offenses.

Judges can still exercise discretion in setting bail above or below the recommended range.  Sometimes the court decides that there is a good chance that the arrested will show up for trial and not flee so they are released on their own promise, or recognizance.  

Bail is money paid that is held by the Clark County or municipal court to make sure that the arrested does not flee the area before their trial. Bail amounts and other conditions are determined at the arraignment. The State of Kentucky has banned commercial bail by a bail bond company.  These are the bonds that the Clerk of Court will process in Kentucky:

For minor offenses, the defendant, friend, or family can pay the full amount of bail.

A personal recognizance bond is a bond where the defendant or someone representing the defendant signs paperwork promising to pay the money if the defendant does not show up to court. If the defendant does not show, the full amount will be due and the people who signed the paperwork will be responsible for paying the court.  

Cash percentage bond.  If the bond order permits, the defendant pays 10% to the court, which then holds the money until the case is over. The amount is returned if the defendant is acquitted or the case is dismissed, or it can be used toward paying any court fines incurred by the defendant.

A Property Bond is a bond in which the bond is pledged in land or home real estate (mobile homes are not accepted).  Usually, the property must be in Clark County, and it must be worth at least twice the amount of the bond.

It is always important to have family involvement after being arrested.  Not only can they make calls and communicate on your behalf but family support will show the court that there are people who will make sure that the defendant makes it to court, not only for the defendant’s own good, but because they may have signed bond paperwork and responsible to pay if the defendant does not show in court. 

(There have been phone scams where a bond company calls and informs a person that their family member has been arrested and they ask for financial information.  There are no bond companies in Kentucky.)

A criminal defense attorney (also called lawyer or counsel) is hired or retained to represent the arrested as early as possible after the arrest.

If there is a chance that the case might go to trial and the defendant cannot afford an attorney, the 6th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires that the court provide an attorney. This is called indigent representation and a public defender or assigned attorney would represent the defendant in all proceedings.

Indigent representation is only available misdemeanor and felony cases that could result in jail time, juvenile cases, and certain appeal cases The State of Kentucky provides 95% of the costs for Public Defenders across the state and the remaining 5% of costs are provided by the local governments.  Assigned counsel is provided for cases requiring special counsel.

For less serious cases or civil cases, there are pro bono volunteers who volunteer legal services for free or for a small fee. They often hold clinics to teach people how to represent themselves in court. This website provides contact information for pro bono services in Kentucky.

Many courts will provide forms and help for people who want to represent themselves, called pro se.  Here is a link for self-help centers in Kentucky.

A district court can refer to the first level of the legal system, or a minor court. District courts are in the community.  A district court can also refer to a U.S. Federal District Court that hears federal cases. There two U.S. federal district courts in Kentucky, with offices throughout the state. It is important that you check the address of the court you are to appear in rather than to ask someone because that person might give you directions to the wrong “district” court. Being late for court can land you in custody as well.

Pretrial proceeding is the process where both sides (prosecution and defense) gather information, interview witnesses, request records, videos etc. Pretrial proceedings also include communications with the judge assigned to the case and these appearances are either in person or by on-line conferencing. Some pretrial proceedings may not require a defendant’s appearance, allowing an attorney to appear in their place. The information that is gathered is called discovery and both sides must share the information that they have gathered.  This information does not include conversations between the arrested and their attorney.

Most cases do not go to trial because both sides reach a plea deal, where both sides try to reach a reasonable punishment based on what was learned in the pretrial proceedings.  A plea deal can only happen if the accused person admits they are guilty in exchange for a lighter punishment.  The reason they must admit guilt is because it would not be fair to punish someone who claims they are not guilty.  There are times in plea bargaining when the prosecution agrees to give a lighter sentence in exchange for information leading to the arrest of a more serious criminal related to the crime.  

Trial is where both sides share their information in front of a judge or a judge and jury. After listening to all the evidence, the judge or jury decides the verdict which is whether the person is guilty or not guilty. If a court has only a judge hearing both sides, it is called a bench trial.  If a jury is selected, it is called a jury trial.  If the defendant is found not guilty, they are released.  If they are found to be guilty, the next step is sentencing.

Sentencing is the punishment that the judge decides the person should get. This could be jail or prison time, fines, community service, probation, or a combination.

Appeal is asking for a higher court to hear the case again at an appellate court.  If the accused person thinks something went wrong at trial or has new information that was not available during the trial or that the sentence is too harsh, the defense attorney can ask for an appeal. It is not unusual for an appeal when there is a long jail sentence, but an appeal can be denied if the appellate court feels that the original trial or sentencing was fair.

Kentucky Felony vs Misdemeanor

In Kentucky, a misdemeanor is a crime that is punishable by 1 year or less with a fine of up to $500 or both. Misdemeanors are divided into three classes:

• Class A misdemeanor is the more serious and examples include certain assaults, possession of marijuana up to 8 ounces and some criminal trespassing.
• Class B misdemeanor examples are disorderly conduct, harassment, possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Class C misdemeanor examples are public intoxication and trespassing.

A felony crime is a more serious crime than a misdemeanor and are divided into different classes which are general guidelines and are based on the crime, prior criminal history and other factors.  Examples of felony crimes are murder, rape, theft, aggravated assault, drug trafficking, kidnapping and identity theft.  In Kentucky, felonies are divided into four classes. 

• Class A felonies are the most serious and can result in prison time of 20 years to life without parole and examples of Class A include murder, rape and kidnapping.  
• Class B felonies carry a punishment of 10 to 20 years and examples include assault, manslaughter and robbery in the first degree.  
• Class C felonies carry a punishment of 5 to 10 years in prison and examples include forgery, burglary in the second degree, possession of a controlled substance in the second degree. 
• Class D felonies carry a punishment of 1 to 5 years in prison and examples include theft of property valued over $10,000 and possession of a controlled substance in the first degree.

The Clark County Clerk of Court is an elected official whose responsibilities for Criminal Court’s administrative issues include receiving criminal warrants, receiving bail, creating the trial schedule, receiving fees, fines and maintaining court records.

A warrant is used to get someone to appear in court or to law enforcement.  There must be good reason to believe that the person is involved in a crime. The warrant gives authority to arrest the person and search for evidence for the investigation of the crime. 

A criminal summons is issued to request that a person appear in court at a particular time and date.  It does not involve an arrest.  A traffic ticket, summary citation or lesser misdemeanor could be considered a summons if you are given a court date.

A summary citation, commonly referred to as a ticket, is a criminal summons by a law enforcement officer either in person or via mail accusing the defendant of a minor offense, stating potential fine, listing the court having jurisdiction and instructions for addressing the issue. Defendants may or may not be required to appear in court or handle the matter by entering a plea via mail.

Fines are usually paid to the District Court or clerk of court and payment methods can be found on the District Court or Clark County Clerk of Court website. If you do not pay your fine on time, you can lose your driver’s license, must pay additional fees or even have a warrant for your arrest.  It is important to read the instructions on the ticket issued by the police officer or court at the time of your arrest. For a parking ticket or summary citation, the fine amount and how to send payment should be on the ticket. 

Kentucky Criminal Court System - How it Works

In Kentucky, there are various courts that handle criminal cases. The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hear appeals from “lower” courts.  The “lower” courts are the Circuit court, Superior courts, Family courts and local city or town courts, sometimes called Municipal courts.

Municipal courts handle violations of municipal ordinances (city laws), traffic violations, parking violations and criminal misdemeanor offenses that occur within the city or town’s police jurisdiction.

District courts may overlap with Municipal courts in the types of cases that it handles in Kentucky.  District courts handle juvenile matters (juvenile is considered under the age of 18), city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, arraignments for misdemeanors and some felonies and cases related to domestic violence.

Circuit courts process felony cases and hear appeals from District courts. Circuit courts serve one or more counties in Kentucky, depending on the population.

Family court is a specialized division of Circuit courts and may coordinate with District courts in cases that involve domestic violence and abuse and family support.

Court of Appeals hears cases from district, circuit and family courts.

Supreme Court is similar to our United States’ Supreme Court because it has a panel of judges that rule on matters that have to do with someone’s constitutional rights or policies and laws. The Kentucky State Supreme Court deals with the Kentucky state constitution or laws or policies. Sometimes the Kentucky Supreme Court will hear criminal cases on appeal when there is question on the state laws or procedures that lead to the appeal.  The criminal cases are usually referred from the district courts of appeal.

Specialty courts or problem-solving courts are being adopted in many states as a way to handle cases that involve non-violent and first-time offender cases in a way to where the offender can retain a job or responsibilities while following specific orders of the court as returned court appearances, periodic evaluations or testing for substances. Kentucky offers specialty courts in drug courts, mental health and veteran’s treatment courts.

The Kentucky Supreme Court is like our United States’ Supreme Court because it has a panel of judges that rule on matters that have to do with someone’s constitutional rights or policies and laws. The Kentucky State Supreme Court deals with the state constitution or laws or policies. Sometimes the Supreme Court will hear criminal cases on appeal when there is a question on the state laws or procedures that lead to the appeal.  

The criminal cases are usually referred from the district courts of appeal.

FEDERAL COURT

Federal Court deals with crimes involving violations of United States laws.  Federal crimes include federal drug trafficking, federal tax evasion and fraud that crossed state lines and include crimes that occur on federal property as post offices or federal buildings.  

Cases involving crimes that involve the FBI or DEA or Immigration agencies are federal crimes. Terrorism is a federal crime. 

There are some differences in the Federal court system as compared to the Kentucky state court system. For example, the attorneys who work for the courts are called United States Attorneys and Federal judges are called District Court Judges (not to be confused by local state district courts).  

Federal Magistrate Judges hear the case early on, but they do not decide on the cases at a trial like the Federal District Court Judges. In a federal case, a grand jury is used for indictments.

There are two U.S. Federal Judicial Districts in Kentucky.