• Kentucky circuit courts also oversee family court.Allan Baxter/Lifesize/Getty Images
  
  Kentucky circuit courts encompass general and family jurisdiction oversight, which focuses on one judge to address all the needs of one family. The state is divided into 57 circuits, each of which operates according to slightly different rules. Key personnel include judges, court administrators and county clerks. Circuit court clerks manage records for both circuit and district courts. Elected clerks hold six-year terms and work in offices in each of the 120 Kentucky counties. In addition to record keeping duties, clerks handle payments and finances, administer the jury system, and issue both drivers' licenses and identification cards.
  
  

General Jurisdiction

• Kentucky circuit courts hold general jurisdiction over a variety of cases. These include capital offenses, all felonies, questions regarding will probates, land disputes and any civil cases when more than $4,000 is disputed.
  
  

Powers

• Kentucky circuit courts of general jurisdiction have several powers. These include issuing writs of mandamus, injunctions and writs of prohibition or orders of public duty. They also hear appeals from administrative agencies or district courts.
  
  

Family Court

• Family court and district court hold concurrent jurisdiction over domestic violence proceedings, paternity, dependency and emancipation, and juvenile status offenses. The family court division began as a pilot program in Jefferson County in 1991 to focus on the needs of children and families. In November 2002, voters in all 120 counties chose to permanently keep family court by over 75 percent of the vote. Family court oversees several areas, including divorce, child custody and visitation, alimony, child support both in and out of state, property distribution, adoption, child neglect and abuse and termination of parents' rights.