About the Court: To ..., Establish Justice, ...
 

The Founders of our nation "mutually pledge[d] to each other [their] lives, fortunes, and sacred honor" in order to "form a more perfect union,  establish justice, ... and secure the blessings of liberty" to ALL.   The formation of a more perfect union depends on the establishment of justice, which in turn secures the blessings of liberty. You CANNOT have one without the other, hence the importance of our judiciary in our republican form of government.  The establishment of justice MUST occur in  our judiciary through our Judges. Mistakes MUST be avoided and the pervasive  influence of local politics on our  judiciary MUST be  discouraged. This way,  the rule of law prevails and needed fairness and impartiality are established. In Kentucky, there are four Court layers: the District Courts, the Circuit Courts, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. To serve on the  Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or Circuit Court, including the Family Division, a person “must be a citizen of the United States, licensed to practice law in the courts of this Commonwealth, and have been a resident of this Commonwealth and of the district from which he is elected for two years next preceding his taking office. In addition, to be eligible to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Court of Appeals or Circuit Court a person must have been a licensed attorney for at least eight years. No district judge shall serve who has not been a licensed attorney for at least two years”.  Kentucky Constitution, articles 110, 111, 112, and 113. Osi is a citizen of United States, is licensed to practice law in the courts of this Commonwealth, has been a resident of the Second District for more than two years and has been a licensed Attorney for more than eight years. Thus Osi has met, and greatly exceeded, the Constitutional requirement to be a Circuit Judge, a Court of Appeals Judge or Judge of the Supreme Court . Please see "family court" below and view Osi’s resume. The District Court has limited jurisdiction, which means it hears ONLY cases, like violations of city and county ordinances, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, probate of wills, small claims, preliminary hearings, certain juvenile matters, civil cases of $4000 or less, mental health commitments as well as domestic violence and abuse cases. There 116 district judges in sixty judicial districts. The Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction over cases involving capital offenses, felonies, land disputes, contested probates of wills, and general litigation  in disputes involving more than $4000. Circuits courts have the power to issue injunctions, writs of prohibition, writs of mandamus and hear appeals from district courts and administrative agencies. As a division of Circuit Court with general jurisdiction, the family court division  of the [circuit] court further retains primary jurisdiction in cases involving dissolution of marriage; custody; visitation; maintenance and support; equitable distribution of property in dissolution cases; adoption; and, termination of parental rights. In addition to general jurisdiction of Circuit Court, the family court division of Circuit Court, concurrent with the District Court, has jurisdiction over proceedings involving domestic violence and abuse; the Uniform Act on Paternity and the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act; dependency, neglect and abuse; and juvenile status offenses. Currently, there are 95 Circuit Court Judges in 57 judicial circuits and 34 circuit family court judges. The Court is a Court of Appeals; therefore, nearly all cases come to it on appeal from a lower court. If a case is tried in District or Circuit court, and the losing parties involved are not satisfied with the outcome, they may ask for a higher court to review the correctness of the trial court's decision. Some cases, like criminal case acquittals and divorces, may not be appealed. In a divorce case, however, child custody and property rights decisions may be appealed. Cases are not retried in the Court of Appeals. Only the record of the original court trial is reviewed, with attorneys presenting the legal issues to the court for a decision. Fourteen judges, two elected from seven appellate court districts, serve on the Court of Appeals. The judges are divided into panels of three to review and decide cases, with the majority determining the decision. The panels do no sit permanently in one location, but travel about the state to hear cases. Click here for a view of the current Judges. The Supreme Court is a court of last resort for state ONLY lawsuits that do NOT involve Federal Issues. All appeals involving state law are decided in the Supreme Court where binding decisions are rendered. Nine Justices sit on the Court, one from each of the 7 districts. Our second district, for both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, covers the following counties: Warren, Barren, Hart, Larue, Hardin, Bullitt, Meade, Breckinridge, Grayson, Daviess, Union, Henderson, and Ohio. See the  Second District map.   - return to top -

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