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Franklin County courts to relocate again in June

Photo caption
The Administrative Office of the Courts building at 1001 Vandalay Drive, the former location of Home Depot.

FRANKFORT, Ky. May 23, 2025 – Franklin County court operations will relocate to a new temporary site in June as flood remediation continues at the Franklin County Courthouse.

Beginning Monday, June 2, the Office of Circuit Court Clerk and some in-person proceedings for Circuit and District Court will move to 1001 Vandalay Drive. The site is the campus of the Administrative Office of the Courts and formerly housed Home Depot.

Motorists will be directed to enter the parking lot from Westridge Drive and park in a designated area between the side of the building and Westridge Drive. The entrance to the Franklin County courts is through the first set of doors under the large, covered patio, located behind the flagpoles.

The nearest Frankfort Public Transit stop is FT137 on Westridge Drive near Kroger, served by the West and Purple lines.

Court operations will continue at 669 Chamberlin Ave. through Friday, May 30.

Many criminal court proceedings will continue to be held at the Franklin County Regional Jail at 400 Coffee Tree Road, where they have taken place since April flooding displaced court operations. The Franklin County Courthouse in downtown remains closed and is not conducting any court business.

The Franklin County courts adopted a temporary protocol for court proceedings while operating out of temporary locations. View the protocol at https://kcoj.info/FranklinProtocolMay2025. Parties should review the temporary local protocol as dates, times and locations for court proceedings may have changed.

Circuit Court

  • Civil cases will be conducted remotely via Zoom with some in-person proceedings at Vandalay Drive. Civil motion hour will take place via Zoom at 9 a.m. EDT Mondays and Wednesdays.
  • Criminal motion hour will be conducted in person at 9 a.m. EDT for Division 1 and 10:30 a.m. EDT for Division 2 Fridays at the jail.
  • Drug Court will be held in person at noon EDT Wednesdays at the jail.

Family Court

  • Family Court will be conducted remotely via Zoom on Mondays and Thursdays and as needed on Tuesdays and Fridays.
  • Domestic violence proceedings will be held in person at 10 a.m. EDT Wednesdays at Vandalay Drive.
  • Child support proceedings will be held in person at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesdays at Vandalay Drive.

District Court

  • Probate Court will be held in person at 9 a.m. EDT Mondays at Vandalay Drive.
  • The district civil and forcible detainer docket will be held in person at 10 a.m. EDT Mondays at Vandalay Drive.
  • Criminal arraignments for out of custody are in person at 9 a.m. and in custody are 10 a.m. EDT Tuesdays at the jail gym.
  • Criminal trials will be held in person at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. EDT Tuesdays at the jail gym.
  • Jail arraignments will be conducted remotely via Zoom at 10 a.m. EDT Mondays and Thursdays.
  • Traffic Court will be held in person at 9 a.m. EDT Thursdays at Vandalay Drive. The trial docket will start at 1 p.m. EDT and is also in person.
  • Disability hearings will be held in person at 9 a.m. EDT the first and third Wednesdays of the month at Vandalay Drive.
  • Small Claims Court will be held in person at 1 p.m. EDT the third Wednesdays of the month at Vandalay Drive.
  • Juvenile Court will be held in person at 1 p.m. EDT the second and third Mondays of the month at Vandalay Drive.
  • The SCIP docket (pay docket) will be held in person 1 p.m. EDT the fourth Mondays of the month at Vandalay Drive.

 Public access
Due to space constraints and security reasons, attendance at non-confidential proceedings at Vandalay Drive and the jail may be limited. During busy dockets only named parties may be allowed into the facilities. Parties under the age of 18 can be accompanied by an adult.

When attendance is limited, alternative access to nonconfidential proceedings will be provided. Proceedings at Vandalay Drive will be livestreamed at https://kycourts.devosvideo.com/show?video=114a5d8c0370. Audio recordings of proceedings held at the jail will be available after the hearings through the circuit court clerk’s office.

The public can search for court records and dockets on the Kentucky Court of Justice website with a free CourtNet account at kcoj.kycourts.net/kyecourts/Apps. To view physical court records, contact the circuit clerk’s office at 502-564-7013. The public may experience delays in getting court records due to the flood.

Office of the Circuit Court Clerk
The Franklin County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office will be open for in-person services from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. In-person filings of pleadings, motions and other case-related documents will be accepted during these hours, provided they are not required to be filed electronically. Some fines may be eligible for online payment at kycourts.gov.

Although the office has temporarily relocated, the mailing address remains the same: Franklin Circuit Court Clerk at 222 St. Clair St., Frankfort, KY 40601.

Additional details about court operations, including specific procedures for Circuit Court, Family Court and District Court, are outlined in the temporary protocol. These temporary procedures are authorized by the Supreme Court as reflected in Amended Emergency Order 2025-18 (https://www.kycourts.gov/Courts/Supreme-Court/Supreme%20Court%20Orders/202518.pdf).

As flood recovery efforts progress, court operations and procedures may be adjusted to reflect changing conditions. For the most up-to-date information, please visit the Franklin County page on the Kentucky Court of Justice website at kcoj.info/Franklin or contact the circuit clerk’s office at 502-564-7013.

Administrative Office of the Courts
The AOC in Frankfort is the operations arm of the state court system. The AOC supports the activities of nearly 3,300 court system employees and 412 elected justices, judges and circuit court clerks. As the fiscal agent for the state court system, the AOC executes the Judicial Branch budget.

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