Pulaski County Circuit Court Overview
The Kentucky Court of Justice Circuit Court page describes Circuit Court as Kentucky's general-jurisdiction trial court. Circuit Court handles civil matters over $5,000, capital offenses, felonies, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, real property title disputes, contested probate matters, injunctions, writs, appeals from District Court, and administrative appeals. In Pulaski County, Circuit Court records and filings route through the Office of Circuit Court Clerk at the Pulaski County Court of Justice in Somerset.
The KCOJ Pulaski County page places Pulaski County in the 28th Judicial Circuit and 28th Judicial District. It lists Circuit Court, Family Court, District Court, the Circuit Court Clerk, court hours, payment notes, and local court officers. Family Court is a Circuit Court division for domestic and juvenile-adjacent family matters where established. District Court is a separate lower trial court for misdemeanors, traffic, small claims, probate of wills, juvenile matters, and other limited-jurisdiction cases.
Pulaski County Court of Justice
50 Public Square
P.O. Box 664
Somerset, KY 42502-0664
606-677-4029
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed Saturday-Sunday
Pulaski County Circuit Court Divisions
Pulaski County does not have separately addressed numbered courthouse buildings for each trial division in the research file. Circuit Court, Family Court, District Court, and the Circuit Court Clerk are all listed at the Pulaski County Court of Justice. The table below follows the Phase B court-list requirement by separating the local court divisions, their role, shared address, and shared public phone number.
| Court or office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulaski County Circuit Court | 28th Judicial Circuit, general jurisdiction | Pulaski County Court of Justice, 50 Public Square, Somerset, KY 42502 | 606-677-4029 |
| Pulaski County Family Court | 28th Judicial Circuit, Family Court division | Pulaski County Court of Justice, 50 Public Square, Somerset, KY 42502 | 606-677-4029 |
| Pulaski County District Court | 28th Judicial District, limited jurisdiction | Pulaski County Court of Justice, 50 Public Square, Somerset, KY 42502 | 606-677-4029 |
| Office of Circuit Court Clerk | Court records, filings, juries, fines, and bond money | 50 Public Square, P.O. Box 664, Somerset, KY 42502-0664 | 606-677-4029 |
| Pulaski County Clerk | Land records, marriage licenses, notaries, elections, and vehicles | 100 North Main Street, Somerset, KY 42501 | 606-679-2042 |
Pulaski County Circuit Court Jurisdiction
KRS 23A.010 establishes Circuit Court as a court of record with general jurisdiction. For Pulaski County, that means felony criminal prosecutions, major civil cases, divorce cases, adoption, termination of parental rights, real property title disputes, injunctions, writs, administrative appeals, and appeals from District Court are Circuit Court matters. Family Court jurisdiction is defined by KRS 23A.100, which covers divorce, custody, support, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, neglect, abuse, and certain status matters within the Circuit Court family division.
The KCOJ Circuit Court page provides the general statewide description of Circuit and Family Court jurisdiction.
That statewide jurisdiction framework is what places Pulaski County felony, divorce, major civil, and Family Court case records under Circuit Court rather than the County Clerk.
Circuit Court vs District Court
Kentucky's lower-court split is not a county court or justice of the peace model. The main comparison in Pulaski County is Circuit Court and Family Court on one side, District Court on the other, with city or police citation channels feeding some lower-level cases into District Court. County Clerk records are not a court level, though they can matter for marriage licenses, deeds, liens, and recorded wills.
| Point | Circuit Court / Family Court | District Court | County Clerk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil reach | Civil matters over $5,000, title disputes, injunctions, writs, administrative appeals | Civil cases up to $5,000 and small claims up to $2,500 | No court case jurisdiction |
| Criminal reach | Felonies and capital offenses | Misdemeanors, violations, ordinances, felony arraignments, and probable-cause hearings | No criminal court role |
| Family matters | Divorce, custody, support, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, and related Family Court matters | Domestic violence/abuse and juvenile matters listed for District Court jurisdiction | Marriage license records, not divorce case files |
| Probate | Contested probate matters and estate-related title disputes | Probate of wills and routine probate jurisdiction | Recorded wills and land-related instruments |
| Records office | Circuit Court Clerk | Circuit Court Clerk | County Clerk Tim Price |
Pulaski County Court Officers
The Pulaski KCOJ county page lists current court officers for the county and surrounding appellate districts at the time the research was gathered. These names help users match docket entries, division labels, and hearing notices to the correct court level. Because judges and vacancies can change, official KCOJ pages should be checked before relying on a name for filing, scheduling, or appearance purposes.
- Teresa Whitaker, Judge, Circuit Court, 28th Judicial Circuit, Division 1.
- Eddy Montgomery, Judge, Circuit Court, 28th Judicial Circuit, Division 2.
- Marcus L. Vanover, Chief Judge, Family Court, 28th Judicial Circuit, Division 3.
- Jane Adams Venters, Judge, Family Court, 28th Judicial Circuit, Division 4.
- Benjamin R. Hardy, Judge, District Court, 28th Judicial District, Division 1.
- Kathryn G. Slone, Judge, District Court, 28th Judicial District, Division 2.
- J.S. Flynn, Circuit Court Clerk.
Note: The same KCOJ page listed Court of Appeals 3rd Appellate District Division 2 as vacant during research, so current appellate listings should be verified.
Pulaski County Case Flow
Case movement depends on whether the matter begins as a felony, misdemeanor, traffic case, civil case, family case, or probate matter. Felony cases may start with an arrest, first appearance, or probable-cause step in District Court before moving to Circuit Court after indictment or information. Misdemeanor and traffic cases often stay in District Court. Civil claims use the monetary and case-type split, while divorce and Family Court matters remain in the Circuit Court family division.
Felony criminal flow: Arrest or complaint › District Court first appearance/probable cause › indictment or information › Circuit Court arraignment › pretrial motions › plea or trial › disposition and sentencing › appeal.
Civil and family flow: Complaint or petition filed › service and answer › motions or temporary orders › discovery or hearings › settlement, trial, or final order › post-judgment steps › appeal if allowed.
Search Pulaski County Circuit Court Cases
Public case information begins with KYeCourts public records guest access where available. Hearing dates use the Kentucky Court of Justice docket portal. The docket portal lets users select Pulaski County, choose Circuit or District, enter a date, and use courtroom or subdivision controls. KCOJ warns that docket results are not an official docket and may change due to normal delays, system limits, or scheduling changes.
The Kentucky District Court page explains the lower trial court role that shares the Pulaski courthouse and clerk office.
That lower-court context helps separate Pulaski County Circuit Court records from District Court traffic, misdemeanor, small-claims, juvenile, and probate-of-will matters.
- Identify whether the matter is Circuit, Family, or District Court based on case type.
- Use KYeCourts guest access for public case information where the case appears.
- Use the docket portal when the need is a hearing date or daily calendar.
- Contact the Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies, older files, sealed-file questions, or records not found online.
- For appellate records, use Court of Appeals or Supreme Court clerk channels rather than the Pulaski clerk.
Pulaski County Court Payments
The Pulaski County KCOJ page gives specific payment notes for local court users. Cash, check, money order, credit cards, and debit cards are listed payment options at the Pulaski County Court of Justice, with a fee applying to card payments. Some fees, court costs, and traffic tickets can be paid by credit or debit card by phone at 606-677-4029. Bond and filing fees cannot be paid by credit or debit card by phone. Online payments may route through the statewide ePay system when eligible.
| Payment type | Pulaski County note |
|---|---|
| Cash, check, or money order | Listed as accepted court-related payment methods at the court facility. |
| Credit or debit card | Accepted for some payments; card fee applies. |
| Phone card payment | Some fees, court costs, and traffic tickets can be paid by phone at 606-677-4029. |
| Bond by phone card | Not allowed under the Pulaski KCOJ payment note. |
| Filing fee by phone card | Not allowed under the Pulaski KCOJ payment note. |
Pulaski County Appeals Path
Appeals from Pulaski County District Court go to local Circuit Court. Most appeals from Circuit Court go to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, where the case is reviewed from the record and legal arguments rather than retried from scratch. The Kentucky Supreme Court is the highest court and may review certain cases or handle matters within its constitutional authority. Federal cases arising in Pulaski County are separate from state court and generally fall within the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Current and older appellate records use different clerk channels. Court of Appeals records route to the Kentucky Court of Appeals clerk or C-Track Public Access. Supreme Court records route to the Supreme Court clerk or C-Track Public Access. A Pulaski County litigant should not assume the local Circuit Court Clerk can provide the full appellate file once the case has moved beyond the county trial court record.
Pulaski County Circuit Court Limits
Public access to Pulaski County Circuit Court records is shaped by the court system and by confidentiality rules. Juvenile records are confidential under KRS 610.340. Some adoption, mental-health, domestic-violence, sealed, expunged, and personal-identifier information may be withheld or redacted. Kentucky CR 7.03 requires privacy protection for filings made with the court.
Kentucky's open-records statutes, including KRS 61.872 and KRS 61.880, remain important for non-court public agencies. Court case copies, however, begin with KCOJ systems and the Circuit Court Clerk. Older records may be in the local office, at a record facility, or destroyed under retention schedules, so the clerk's file-location guidance is part of the access process.