Kentucky Court Docket Search
Pursuant to the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure, court record information is maintained in a docket by their respective custodians. A court docket search can be used to research individual cases or to examine trends in court filings over time. It is also a useful way to search for any existing liens or judgments against a person or property.
A court docket in Kentucky is a list of all upcoming court proceedings in a court case. It carries various case details, such as the docket or case number assigned to a case, the names of case parties, the case type, and more. Like Kentucky court records, court clerk offices in Kentucky are responsible for maintaining dockets of cases brought to their respective courthouses. Court clerks maintain these dockets in physical and electronic forms.
Are Court Dockets Public Records in Kentucky?
Yes. Per KRS 61.870, et seq (Kentucky's Open Records Act), court dockets are considered public records in Kentucky. However, dockets that contain confidential or sensitive information may be withheld from the public. Case parties, attorneys, and law enforcement agencies often have access to sealed or confidential dockets.
Where to Find a Court Docket in Kentucky
Generally, members of the public can find court dockets at the courthouse where a case was filed. One may also find electronic court dockets on a court's official website. Some third-party sites also provide court dockets to the public.
How to Conduct a Kentucky Court Docket Search
To conduct a Kentucky court docket search, a person should visit the court presiding over a case. At the courthouse, the individual can use terminals or computers provided to the public to search, or they may query the court clerk's office for physical copies. Note that a nominal fee usually applies for copy requests.
People can also search for daily court dockets on the Kentucky judiciary's Docket Information system. One can view the daily docket of a particular court by selecting the county, court division (circuit or district), and date. The docket shows the type, time, and location of hearings scheduled on a specific day. However, users should note that these dockets are not official records and may be modified by the courts at any time.
Members of the public can also view court dockets specific to a court case via the CourtNet system. Another CourtNet version exists; however, it is accessible to attorneys and self-represented litigants for efiling and case tracking purposes. The public CourtNet system can be searched with a case party's name (or company name), case number, or citation. Additional information about using the CourtNet system can be found on the KCOJ E-courts help website.
What is the Purpose of a Court Docket in Kentucky?
The trial courts in Kentucky hear numerous cases in any calendar year. Given the number of filings and hearings required for a case, the courts, case parties, and attorneys use dockets to track and stay on top of these cases. This includes court appearances scheduled, specific hearing dates, and the outcome of court proceedings. Kentucky court dockets are also handy resources for any member of the public wishing to obtain court case updates.
What Do Court Dockets Contain in Kentucky?
Kentucky court dockets may contain the following information:
- The docket number
- Names of the case participants
- A summary of the case
- The case type. For example, criminal or family law
- The claim(s) or charge(s) filed against a party (a plaintiff or defendant)
- The date and time scheduled for a court appearance or proceeding
- The type of court hearing
- The courtroom or location where a case proceeding will take place
- The name of a party's attorney
- The name of the presiding judge or magistrate
- The date when the case was filed
- A brief log of all documents (e.g., motions, affidavits) filed in a case
What is a Court Docket Number in Kentucky?
A court docket number (or case number) in Kentucky is a unique identifying number for each case filed in court. These numbers are assigned once a person files a case in court for easy tracking within the judicial system. Docket numbers also appear on all papers filed with the court. This way, information or documents relating to a court case can easily be retrieved.
Kentucky court docket numbers are typically in a nine-digit format that consists of two numbers, two letters, and five numbers (00-XX-00000). The first two numbers represent the year a case was filed in court, the second two letters denote the case type, and the last five digits are sequential numbers generated for each case filed in a particular year in a specific court.
A Kentucky case number 22-CR-00109, for example_,_ means:
- 22 = the case year: 2022
- CR = the case type. In this scenario, a criminal case.
- 00109 = the 109th case filed in 2022
How to Conduct a Court Docket Number Lookup in Kentucky
A court docket number is one of the search parameters used to find court dockets in Kentucky. Thus, anyone who wants to conduct a court docket number lookup in Kentucky can visit a courthouse where a case was heard and provide this number to the clerk's office to obtain the relevant court docket. At the same time, individuals can enter the number into a public computer located at the courthouse or on an online docket search system provided by the courts to perform a docket number lookup.
Notably, persons who still need a docket number can still perform a court docket number lookup in Kentucky. Since court dockets created in Kentucky carry other case information, the courts index them with other search parameters, such as a case party's name, presiding court's name, or filing date. Thus, a person with at least one of these criteria can access a court docket at a courthouse or online to retrieve a docket number. For example, on the Kentucky judiciary's Docket Information or CourtNet sites, as explained previously.
