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Kentucky Court of Appeals
The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in Kentucky. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution that created the Kentucky Supreme Court, the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in the state.[1]
The court consists of 14 members who serve eight-year terms. The court hears cases normally in three-judge panels, with membership in the panels rotating so all judges sit on at least one panel with each of their colleagues every year. The court is headquartered in Frankfort, Kentucky, but the three-judge panels hear cases in courtrooms throughout the state.[1]
- Published opinions of the Kentucky Court of Appeals can be found here.
| Kentucky Court of Appeals | |||
 | |||
| Court information | |||
| Judges: | 14 | ||
| Salary: | Associates: $168,191[2] | ||
| Judicial selection | |||
| Method: | Nonpartisan election of judges | ||
| Term: | 8 years | ||
Judges
Salary
- See also: Kentucky court salaries and budgets
In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $168,191, according to the National Center for State Courts.[3]
Jurisdiction
The Kentucky Court of Appeals hears appeals from the district and circuit courts in Kentucky. When losing parties are unsatisfied with the trial court's decision, they can seek a review of the lower court's decisions from the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Cases are not retried by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, instead the original trial is reviewed and attorneys present legal issues to the court for a decision.[1]
Child custody and property rights decisions in divorce cases may be appealed, however, criminal case acquittals and divorces cannot. Cases involving death sentences, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of 20 or more years are appealed directly to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Original actions can be filed with the Kentucky Court of Appeals under certain situations.[1]
Judicial selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Kentucky
The fourteen judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals are elected to eight-year terms in nonpartisan elections. They must run for re-election if they wish to serve subsequent terms.[4]
Qualifications
To serve on the Kentucky Court of Appeals, the judge must be:
| “ | ” |
Chief judge
The judges of the Kentucky Court of Appeals select one colleague to serve as chief judge for a four-year term. The chief judge assigns judges to their panels and designates cases for each panel.[4]
Vacancies
If a midterm vacancy occurs, the governor appoints a successor from a list of three names provided by the Kentucky Judicial Nominating Commission. If the term the appointee will fill expires at the next election, the appointment is for the remainder of the term. If the term does not expire at the next election and that election is more than three months away, the appointee must stand for election, and the election is for the remainder of the unexpired term. If the term does not expire at the next election, but the election is less than three months away, the appointee must stand for election in the election following the next. The election is for the remainder of the unexpired term, if any; if none of the term is left, the election is for a full term.[4]
Elections
See also: Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2030
There are no official candidates yet for this election.
See also: Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
General election
General election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1
Incumbent Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) won election in the general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) | 100.0 | 112,597 |
| Total votes: 112,597 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary
The primary scheduled for May 17, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) advanced from the primary for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1 without appearing on the ballot.
See also: Kentucky intermediate appellate court elections, 2020
General election
Special general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1
Incumbent Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) defeated Jenny Hines (Nonpartisan) in the special general election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) | 54.2 | 94,869 |
 | Jenny Hines (Nonpartisan) | 45.8 | 80,178 | |
| Total votes: 175,047 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary
Special Nonpartisan primary election for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1
Incumbent Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) and Jenny Hines (Nonpartisan) defeated C. Rene Williams (Nonpartisan) in the special primary for Kentucky Court of Appeals 1st Division 1 on June 23, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris McNeill (Nonpartisan) | 45.1 | 35,375 |
| ✔ | | Jenny Hines (Nonpartisan) | 33.6 | 26,334 |
| C. Rene Williams (Nonpartisan) | 21.2 | 16,642 | ||
| Total votes: 78,351 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jason Coltharp (Nonpartisan)
Ethics
The Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Kentucky. It consists of five overarching canons:
| “ |
|
” |
The full text of the Kentucky Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.
Removal of judges
Any judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals can be removed by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission. The commission is composed of the following:
- One judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals (selected by that court)
- One district court judge
- One circuit court judge
- One member of the Kentucky Bar Association
- Two persons appointed by the governor of Kentucky who are not judges or attorneys[9]
Any individual or group may file a complaint against a sitting judge for possible judicial misconduct or wrongdoing.[10]
Alternatively, judges may also be impeached by the Kentucky House of Representatives and convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Kentucky Senate.[11]
State profile
| Demographic data for Kentucky | ||
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 4,424,611 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 39,486 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 87.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 7.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.3% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.2% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 84.2% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 22.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $43,740 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 22.7% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Kentucky. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Kentucky
Kentucky voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Kentucky, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[12]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Kentucky had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Kentucky coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Kentucky
- United States congressional delegations from Kentucky
- Public policy in Kentucky
- Endorsers in Kentucky
- Kentucky fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kentucky Court of Justice, "Kentucky Court of Appeals: About the Court of Appeals," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ The salary of the chief judge may be higher than an associate judge.
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "2025 Salaries and Rankings," accessed October 8, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed September 15, 2021
- ↑ Kentucky Board of Elections, "Candidate Qualifications," accessed March 31, 2023
- ↑ Kentucky Legislature, "Kentucky Constitution, Section 122," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kentucky Court of Justice, "Order Amending Rules of the Supreme Court (SCR) 4.300," accessed August 19, 2025
- ↑ Kentucky Court of Justice, "Judicial Conduct Commission Members," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky Court of Justice, "Judicial Complaint Form," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Judicial selection-Removal of Judges," accessed June 1, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
Federal courts:
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Kentucky, Western District of Kentucky
State courts:
Kentucky Supreme Court • Kentucky Court of Appeals • Kentucky Circuit Courts • Kentucky District Courts • Kentucky Family Court
State resources:
Courts in Kentucky • Kentucky judicial elections • Judicial selection in Kentucky
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