LaRue County Court Docket Basics
A docket is the court's calendar and event record. In LaRue County, docket information can show a case number, party or defendant name, hearing date, hearing type, court level, judge, and recent case events. It may show that a motion was filed, a hearing was continued, an arraignment was set, or a disposition was entered. It does not always provide the full document behind the event.
LaRue County uses Kentucky's unified court system. Circuit Court handles felonies, larger civil cases, divorces, adoptions, real-property title disputes, contested probate, and District Court appeals. District Court handles misdemeanors, traffic, violations, city and county ordinances, probate of wills, felony preliminary matters, small claims, lower-value civil cases, juvenile matters, domestic violence matters, and mental-health proceedings. The same Circuit Court Clerk office is the local records and calendar contact point.
| Court or Office | Docket Role | Local Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court, Division 1 | Felony, higher civil, divorce, contested probate, appeals from District Court | Chief Circuit Judge Charles C. Simms III is listed on the official county page. |
| Circuit Court, Division 2 | General jurisdiction Circuit matters | Judge Joe G. Ballard is listed on the official county page. |
| District Court | Misdemeanor, traffic, probate of wills, small claims, juvenile, domestic violence, mental-health matters | Judge Teresa McMahan is listed for the 10th Judicial District. |
| Circuit Court Clerk | Records, dates, copies, fines, bonds during clerk hours | Emily N. Ernst is the LaRue County Circuit Court Clerk. |
Find LaRue County Court Dockets Online
The main online route is the Kentucky Court of Justice court-date search. The official LaRue County page links a Find a Court Date function separately from Find a Case. Use the court-date route when the question is about a scheduled appearance, traffic citation date, arraignment, preliminary hearing, motion hearing, civil setting, or probate hearing. Use CourtNet case search when the question is broader case status or case number lookup.
For federal cases rather than LaRue County state court matters, the PACER federal case access system is the official docket access route.
PACER is separate from LaRue County and Kentucky state dockets, but it matters when a case is federal rather than local.
- Open the Kentucky court-date search and select LaRue County if the county filter is available.
- Enter the party or defendant name, case number, or court date if known.
- Use the court filter when the search route allows a Circuit or District Court choice.
- Review the hearing date, time, court, judge, and event type before making travel plans.
- Call the Circuit Court Clerk if the docket is missing, unclear, recently changed, or tied to an older file.
LaRue County Docket Search Fields
The court-date search uses basic fields because it is meant to return calendar information, not every document in the case. County is the most important filter for a LaRue County docket search. A case number or citation number is more precise than a name. A date can help when a person knows the likely hearing day but not the case number.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| County | Select LaRue to narrow the statewide docket search. |
| Court Date | Search a known hearing day or calendar window if the route supports it. |
| Party / Defendant Name | Finds docket entries tied to a person or business name when spelling matches. |
| Case Number | Best search term for a known case or citation file. |
| Court | May narrow results to Circuit Court or District Court. |
| Event or Hearing Type | May identify arraignment, motion, preliminary hearing, trial, probate hearing, or disposition setting. |
| Judge or Division | May show the assigned court division or judge if the calendar output includes it. |
When a docket entry is hard to read, focus first on the next date, court level, hearing type, and whether a bench warrant or failure-to-appear entry appears. Those fields affect what the person must do next. The underlying motion, order, citation, or judgment may require a clerk copy request.
LaRue County Court Docket Sources
Circuit Court and District Court docket information flows through Kentucky Court of Justice systems and the local Circuit Court Clerk. LaRue County is not a separate municipal-court or justice-of-the-peace docket system. If a docket question involves a federal criminal, federal civil, bankruptcy, or appellate matter, it leaves the LaRue County state court system and goes to federal court sources.
For federal appellate matters, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit provides the court source outside the Kentucky trial-court system.
Sixth Circuit records are not LaRue County trial dockets, but they are part of the federal path for appeals from the Western District of Kentucky.
- Kentucky court-date search is the public online route for LaRue County state court hearing dates.
- Kentucky CourtNet case search can provide case identifiers and status context that help interpret docket results.
- The Circuit Court Clerk can confirm local dates, copy needs, older records, and last-minute docket questions.
- Federal District Court, Bankruptcy Court, and Sixth Circuit sources should be used only for federal matters.
LaRue County Remote Court Details
The official Kentucky Court of Justice LaRue County page publishes Zoom details for local court use. Research found separate Zoom information for Judge McMahan-Miller's District Court, Judge Simms' Circuit Court Division I, and Judge Ballard's Circuit Court Division II. A published Zoom meeting ID does not by itself grant permission to appear remotely. Parties should confirm remote appearance instructions with the court, counsel, or the Circuit Court Clerk before relying on a video link.
| Court / Judge | Published Zoom Detail | Use Caution |
|---|---|---|
| District Court, Judge McMahan-Miller | Meeting ID 880 823 6385, no passcode listed in research | Confirm whether remote appearance is allowed for the specific docket. |
| Circuit Court Division I, Judge Simms | Meeting ID 787 979 4550, passcode 594167 | Use only if the court authorizes remote participation. |
| Circuit Court Division II, Judge Ballard | Meeting ID 9858 943 0163, passcode 859884 | Check the current docket notice before the hearing. |
Note: A remote link can change, and a missed hearing can still lead to a failure-to-appear entry.
LaRue County Dockets vs Case Records
A docket is a working list of case events. A full case record is the file behind those events. For example, a docket may show that an order was entered, but the order itself may not be visible through public online search. A criminal docket may show arraignment, plea, preliminary hearing, bench warrant, dismissal, or sentencing entries, while the full criminal case file may include the complaint, indictment, plea paperwork, sentencing order, and cost records.
The CourtListener public docket and opinion research tool can help with broader legal research when a public federal or opinion source is needed.
CourtListener can help with some public legal research, but LaRue County state trial docket questions should start with KCOJ and the Circuit Court Clerk.
| Docket | Full Case Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Calendar and chronological entries | Pleadings, orders, notices, judgments, warrants, and other file documents |
| Best Use | Confirm dates, events, court level, and status clues | Review the actual filing or obtain a certified copy |
| Access | Often visible through court-date or case search | May require a request to the Circuit Court Clerk |
| Limits | May be brief, updated, or rescheduled | May include sealed, restricted, or redacted material |
Read LaRue County Docket Entries
Common docket terms in LaRue County come from Kentucky court practice. Arraignment is the first criminal event where charges are addressed and plea or bond issues may begin. Preliminary hearing is a District Court event on probable cause for felony charges. Disposition means the outcome of a case or charge. Continuance means the date was postponed. Bench warrant usually means a judge issued a warrant, often after failure to appear or failure to comply.
LaRue County residents may also have separate federal bankruptcy matters. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky is the federal source for those bankruptcy dockets.
Bankruptcy dockets are federal records and should not be confused with Circuit Court or District Court dockets in Hodgenville.
If the docket suggests a missed hearing, call the Circuit Court Clerk at 270-358-3421 before assuming the issue is resolved. During regular clerk hours, bonds connected to a court case must be paid at the Circuit Court Clerk office and paperwork taken to the detention center for release. After normal clerk hours, weekends, and holidays, the detention center takes bonds.