Greenup County Circuit Court Overview
Greenup County is in Kentucky's 20th Judicial Circuit and 20th Judicial District. The 20th Judicial Circuit includes Greenup County and Lewis County. Circuit Court is Kentucky's court of general jurisdiction. KCOJ states that Circuit Court hears civil matters over $5,000, capital offenses and felonies, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, real-property title disputes, contested probate matters, injunctions, writs of mandamus and prohibition, and appeals from District Court and administrative agencies.
Greenup County court activity is centered at the Greenup County Courthouse Annex, 101 Harrison St, Greenup, KY 41144. The Office of Circuit Court Clerk is also at that annex. Circuit Court Clerk Allen Reed is the local contact for Greenup County Circuit, Family, and District Court case records, with phone numbers 606-473-9869 and 606-473-9860. KCOJ lists free parking in the county lot, designated accessible parking in front of the building, and ramp accessibility.
Greenup County Courts and Judicial Officers
The KCOJ Greenup County page lists appellate, Circuit, Family, District, and clerk officers connected to Greenup County's court structure. The appellate courts do not have a Greenup office listed in the research, but they matter for appeal paths and higher-court records.
| Court / Office | District or Circuit | Division | Name | Address / Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court | 7th Supreme Court District | n/a | Robert B. Conley, Deputy Chief Justice | State appellate role; no Greenup office listed. |
| Court of Appeals | 7th Appellate District | Division 2 | Larry E. Thompson, Chief Judge | Appellate role; no Greenup office listed. |
| Court of Appeals | 7th Appellate District | Division 1 | Sara Walter Combs, Judge | Appellate role; no Greenup office listed. |
| Circuit Court | 20th Judicial Circuit | Division 1 | Brian C. McCloud | Greenup County Courthouse Annex, 101 Harrison St, Greenup, KY 41144; clerk phone 606-473-9869 / 606-473-9860. |
| Family Court / Circuit Court | 20th Judicial Circuit | Division 2 | Jeffrey L. Preston, Chief Circuit Judge Family Court | Same Greenup court location for Greenup matters. |
| District Court | 20th Judicial District | n/a | Paul E. Craft | Same Greenup court location for Greenup matters. |
| Circuit Court Clerk | Greenup County | n/a | Allen Reed | 101 Harrison St, Greenup, KY 41144; 606-473-9869 / 606-473-9860. |
Circuit Court vs. District Court vs. Family Court
Kentucky does not use the same county court or justice court model found in some other states. The practical Greenup County comparison is Circuit Court, District Court, and Family Court. Family Court is a division of Circuit Court, but it has its own subject-matter focus for family-related cases.
| Circuit Court | District Court | Family Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Jurisdiction | Civil matters over $5,000; injunctions; real-property title disputes; administrative appeals. | Small claims up to $2,500 and civil cases up to $5,000. | Family-law matters assigned to the Family Court division. |
| Criminal Jurisdiction | Capital offenses and felonies after indictment or information. | Misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, felony arraignments, and probable cause hearings. | Does not function as the general criminal court, but may handle domestic violence and status offense matters listed by KCOJ. |
| Family Cases | Adoptions and termination of parental rights are included in Circuit Court jurisdiction; Family Court is the specialized division where available. | Domestic violence and abuse matters are listed under District Court jurisdiction. | Dissolution of marriage, support, custody, visitation, paternity, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, neglect, abuse, termination of parental rights, and status offenses. |
| Probate | Contested probate matters. | Probate of wills. | Not the routine probate court. |
| Appeals | Hears appeals from District Court and administrative agencies; appeals from Circuit Court go to the Court of Appeals. | Appeals go to local Circuit Court. | Appeals go to the Court of Appeals. |
| Judge Term | Circuit judges serve eight-year terms. | District judges serve four-year terms. | Family Court is a Circuit Court division. |
How a Case Moves Through the Greenup County System
Case flow depends on the type of case. Felony charges may begin in District Court for arraignment or a probable cause hearing, then move to Circuit Court after indictment or information. Misdemeanors, traffic citations, ordinance cases, small claims, routine probate of wills, and preliminary felony steps are District Court work. Divorce and many family matters move through the Family Court division of Circuit Court.
Felony flow: Arrest or charge › District Court first appearance or probable cause stage › indictment or information › Circuit Court arraignment › pretrial proceedings › trial or plea › sentencing › appeal.
Civil Circuit flow: Complaint or petition filed › service › answer or response › motions and discovery › mediation or pretrial settings where ordered › trial or resolution › judgment › appeal.
Family flow: Petition filed › service › temporary orders or hearings where needed › custody, support, property, or related family issues addressed › final decree or order › appeal to the Court of Appeals.
Civil, Family, Criminal, and Probate Context
Circuit Court is the main Greenup County trial court for felony criminal cases, larger civil matters, divorce, adoptions, real-property title disputes, contested probate, and appeals from District Court. Family Court is part of the Circuit Court structure and handles dissolution of marriage, spousal support and equitable distribution, child support and visitation, paternity, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, neglect, abuse, termination of parental rights, and status offenses such as runaways and truancy.
District Court handles misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, city and county ordinance cases, felony preliminary matters, small claims, civil cases up to $5,000, probate of wills, mental-health proceedings, juvenile matters, and domestic violence cases. This means Greenup County court records for a single life event can cross divisions. For example, a felony arrest may start in District Court and continue in Circuit Court, while a contested estate can begin with probate and move into Circuit Court if disputed.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky is a federal court source assigned to this page.
That federal court is not Greenup County Circuit Court; use it only for federal cases, while Kentucky state trial court files remain with the Greenup County Circuit Court Clerk.
Court Location, Parking, and Clerk Access
The visitor destination for Greenup County Circuit Court records, hearings, dockets, court copies, fines, and fees is the Greenup County Courthouse Annex at 101 Harrison St, Greenup, KY 41144. The historic courthouse at 301 Main Street remains important for the County Clerk, County Attorney, Sheriff, and other county offices, but the research directs court-case users to the annex for Circuit and District Court functions.
Greenup County Courthouse Annex
101 Harrison St
Greenup, KY 41144
606-473-9869 / 606-473-9860
Clerk: Allen Reed
Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
KCOJ lists payment options for Greenup as cash, check, money order, and ePay. Free parking is listed in the county lot, with designated parking in front of the building for people with disability parking permits. Accessibility is listed as a ramp. No Greenup-specific prohibited-items list was located in the research, so confirm security rules with the Circuit Court Clerk before bringing electronics, large bags, or recording devices.
Dockets and Court Records
Greenup County does not have a standalone county case-search portal located in official county sources for full Circuit, Family, or District Court case details. The official online public channel found for day-of-hearing information is the Kentucky Trial Court Docket portal. Full court case records require contact with the Greenup County Circuit Court Clerk, and older records may require State Records Center or Department for Libraries and Archives routing after the clerk provides case and file locator numbers.
| Access channel | Use | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Trial Court Docket portal | Scheduled Circuit or District matters by county, division, date, courtroom, and subdivision. | Not an official docket and subject to change. |
| Greenup County Circuit Court Clerk | Case-file review, certified copies, record-location questions, and older-file routing. | Fees, availability, and confidentiality depend on the record. |
| State Records Center / KDLA | Older records stored away from the clerk's office. | Requires case and file locator numbers from the clerk; State Records Center cannot search by name or Social Security number. |
| AOC FastCheck / One-Time Request | Statewide criminal record reports. | Not a full case file and does not include federal criminal information or confidential categories. |
| Appellate C-Track | Court of Appeals and Supreme Court cases. | Used only if the Greenup case was appealed to those courts. |
The Kentucky AOC background checks page is included in the assigned image set for this court page.
AOC background reports can help with statewide criminal-history checks, but they are different from Greenup County Circuit Court case files and do not replace clerk copy requests.
Appeals Path for Greenup County Cases
District Court appeals go to local Circuit Court. Circuit Court also hears appeals from administrative agencies. Appeals from Circuit Court and Family Court go to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The research lists Court of Appeals record requests through the Court of Appeals clerk at 502-573-7920 or C-Track Public Access, and Supreme Court record requests through the Supreme Court clerk at 502-564-5444 or C-Track Public Access.
For federal cases, use the appropriate federal court system instead of the Greenup County Circuit Court Clerk. AOC state reports do not contain federal criminal information, and federal calendars or records are outside the Greenup County Circuit Court file system.
The Eastern District of Kentucky Ashland courthouse page is one assigned federal location source.
Use that Ashland federal courthouse information for federal district matters, not for state Circuit Court hearings at the Greenup County Courthouse Annex.
The Eastern District electronic court calendar is another assigned source image for federal calendar lookup.
Federal calendar filters can be useful for federal cases, while Greenup County Circuit and District hearing dates use the Kentucky trial court docket portal.
Specialty Court and Program Context
KCOJ statewide material highlights Specialty Courts, Pretrial Services, the Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program, behavioral health liaisons, and family or juvenile services. The research did not locate a Greenup-specific separate veterans court, drug court, mental health court, or reentry court page. Use statewide program material as context only, and confirm county-level eligibility or referral details with the Circuit Court Clerk or the judge's office.
For practical record searching, specialty program references may appear within an existing Circuit, Family, or District Court case rather than as a separate Greenup County court. The clerk's office remains the local starting point for determining what is public, what is confidential, and where the case file is physically or electronically stored.