District Court System Announces Changes

The Jefferson County District Court has reorganized itself in order to cut down wait times and overcrowding.Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Lisabeth  Hughes Abramson hailed the changes as necessary and innovative.“Change is never easy," says Abramson "but sometimes change is necessary and I am pleased to note that those who have been involved in the change have a approached it with a spirit of cooperation, innovation and commitment.”The new model will assign 10 district judges to a general criminal docket, while the other seven will handle the civil dockets.  The criminal dockets are divided into complex cases, involving attorneys, witnesses and police officers and less complex cases, which would require only one court appearance. The complex cases will be heard in the morning while the less complex cases will be held in the afternoon.Kentucky Chief Justice John D Minton Jr. praised the effort and the cooperation of the whole court system in designing the changes.“I want to acknowledge the leadership, cooperation, innovation the vision, of judges in district court here in Jefferson county" he says, "working in conjunction with your circuit court clerk who also is willing to make a change for the benefit of the members of this community”The changes will take effect August 11.