Wayne Circuit Court Overview
Kentucky Circuit Court is a court of record and continuous session under KRS 23A.010. For Wayne County, Circuit Court is part of the 57th Judicial Circuit with Russell County. It can hear all types of cases unless the General Assembly gives exclusive jurisdiction to another court. The official Kentucky Circuit Court jurisdiction page lists civil matters over $5,000, capital offenses, felonies, divorces, adoptions, termination of parental rights, real-property title disputes, contested probate matters, injunctions, writs, and appeals from District Court and administrative agencies.
The official Wayne County court page places the Office of Circuit Court Clerk at the Wayne County Justice Center, 100 W. Columbia Ave., Suite 101, Monticello, KY 42633. Patricia Lay is the Circuit Court Clerk. The main phone numbers are 606-348-5841 and 606-348-5983. The same office is the local access point for Circuit, Family, and District Court records.
Wayne Circuit Court is also the appeal court for many District Court outcomes. A misdemeanor, traffic, small-claim, probate-of-will, or lower-dollar civil matter may begin in District Court, but an appeal can move the matter into Circuit Court. Contested probate issues and title disputes are also Circuit Court work even when a will or recorded document is held by the County Clerk. This is why a Wayne County record search often starts with the subject matter, then checks which court level has jurisdiction.
Wayne County Justice Center
100 W. Columbia Ave., Suite 101
Monticello, KY 42633
606-348-5841 / 606-348-5983
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Wayne County Judges
Wayne's court structure includes Circuit Court, Family Court as a Circuit Court division, and District Court. The official county page lists Sara Beth Gregory as Circuit Court Judge for the 57th Judicial Circuit Division 1 and Jennifer Upchurch Edwards as Chief Circuit Judge Family Court for Division 2. District Court is the 40th Judicial District, with Scarlett B. Latham as District Court Judge Division 1 and James M. Lawson as Chief District Judge Division 2.
The judge list helps users route records and dockets without inventing a separate courthouse for each division. The address and phone number are the same Justice Center contact for the listed Wayne trial courts. Jury-service questions use the separate jury phone number, 606-348-6789. Payment questions, bond money, and many filing questions also run through the clerk because Kentucky circuit court clerks receive lawsuits and court documents, handle fines and bonds, and schedule juries at the trial-court level.
| Court / Office | Judge / Official | Role | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Circuit Court | Sara Beth Gregory | General jurisdiction, felonies, higher civil, appeals, contested probate | 606-348-5841 / 606-348-5983 |
| Wayne Family Court | Jennifer Upchurch Edwards | Divorce, custody, support, adoption, domestic violence, dependency and related family matters | 606-348-5841 / 606-348-5983 |
| Wayne District Court | Scarlett B. Latham | Misdemeanors, traffic, probate of wills, small claims, felony preliminary stages | 606-348-5841 / 606-348-5983 |
| Wayne District Court | James M. Lawson | District Court jurisdiction and docket work in the 40th Judicial District | 606-348-5841 / 606-348-5983 |
| Circuit Court Clerk | Patricia Lay | Custody and control of trial-court records, filings, fines, bonds, and jury scheduling | 606-348-5841 / 606-348-5983 |
Circuit Court vs District Court
The practical split in Wayne County is between Circuit Court and District Court. Family Court is part of Circuit Court, not a separate county clerk office. The County Clerk is a separate county-government office led by Heather Piercy and handles marriage licenses, land records, recorded wills, motor vehicles, elections, notary filings, and similar records. It does not keep Circuit Court case files.
District Court remains important even on a Circuit Court page because many criminal and civil records start there. District Court handles arraignments, felony probable-cause hearings, traffic, misdemeanors, violations, probate of wills, juvenile matters, domestic violence, mental commitments, small claims of $2,500 or less, and civil cases of $5,000 or less. Circuit Court becomes the main record location for felony cases after indictment, civil cases above the District Court amount, family-law matters, contested probate, and District Court appeals.
| Circuit Court | District Court | County Clerk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | General-jurisdiction trial court | Limited-jurisdiction trial court | County records and licensing office |
| Civil limit | Generally over $5,000 | $5,000 or less; small claims $2,500 or less | Not a court case forum |
| Criminal matters | Felonies and Circuit criminal proceedings | Misdemeanors, violations, arraignments, preliminary hearings | No criminal case files |
| Family / probate | Divorce, adoption, termination, contested probate | Probate of wills, juvenile, domestic violence, mental commitments | Marriage licenses and recorded wills |
Wayne Case Flow
Criminal cases can begin in District Court with an arrest, citation, complaint, arraignment, bond issue, or felony probable-cause hearing. Felony matters move into Circuit Court after indictment or other Circuit-level charging action. District Court misdemeanors, violations, and traffic cases may stay in District Court unless appealed. Appeals from District Court go to Circuit Court.
Family cases follow a different path. Divorce, custody, support, paternity, adoption, domestic violence, dependency, neglect, abuse, and termination matters fall within Family Court jurisdiction as part of Circuit Court. The Kentucky Family Court model is meant to keep related family issues with one judge where possible. Public record access is still limited by adoption, juvenile, minor, protected-address, and domestic-violence restrictions.
Criminal flow: Arrest or citation › District Court first appearance › preliminary stage or misdemeanor track › indictment for felony cases › Circuit Court arraignment › pretrial motions › plea or trial › disposition and sentencing › appeal.
Civil flow: complaint or petition › service and answer › motions › discovery › settlement talks or hearing › trial or judgment › post-judgment collection or appeal.
Kentucky's Eastern District federal court source is useful as a contrast, but federal court is separate from Wayne Circuit Court.
Federal records use federal systems, while Wayne County Circuit Court records remain in the Kentucky Court of Justice and local clerk channels.
Circuit Court Records
For Wayne County Circuit Court records, use KYeCourts Public Court Records for free public case information when available. Use the Kentucky docket search for daily court-date checks. For copies, older records, certified records, or files that do not appear online, call or visit Patricia Lay's office. The state court-record guidance says AOC does not maintain local case files and cannot provide access to them.
A Circuit Court record may contain a complaint, indictment, petition, motion, order, judgment, sentence, bond entry, payment event, transcript, exhibit reference, or appeal notice. The public search system may show only case information or docket entries, while the official file remains with the clerk. Older files can be in the clerk's office, in a record facility, or destroyed under Kentucky retention schedules. If a stored record is public, the clerk can provide the case or file locator numbers needed for a State Records Center request.
Restrictions still apply. Adoption records, juvenile-related material, mental-health filings, protected addresses, medical details, financial account numbers, minor names, sealed filings, and expunged matters may not be available through public search. A party seeking access to a sealed record must use the court process, not the public docket portal.
The federal court locations source is useful only as a contrast with state Circuit Court access.
Wayne County users should not send state Circuit Court copy requests to a federal court location.
The Eastern District electronic calendar is also separate from Wayne County court dockets.
Use the federal calendar for federal cases only, and use the Kentucky docket portal for Wayne Circuit or District dates.
Appeals and Federal Cases
Appeals from Wayne District Court go to Circuit Court. Appeals from Circuit Court generally go to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Kentucky is the highest state court. The official Wayne page lists Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert for the 3rd Supreme Court District and Kentucky Court of Appeals judges for the 3rd Appellate District.
Federal cases are different. Wayne County is within the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, but a federal criminal, federal civil, bankruptcy, Social Security, federal habeas, or federal tax case is not a Wayne County Circuit Court case. Those records use PACER/CM/ECF and the federal court clerk system.
The local prosecutor structure is also state-specific. Kentucky uses Commonwealth's Attorneys and County Attorneys rather than the formal title "District Attorney." Felony Circuit Court prosecutions for Wayne County are tied to the Commonwealth's Attorney for the 57th Judicial Circuit. Wayne County Attorney Thomas G. Simmons is the local county attorney listed by Wayne County government and may handle many District Court matters such as misdemeanors, violations, and traffic, subject to office confirmation.
The U.S. Attorney contact source shows a federal prosecutor office, not a Wayne County state trial court office.
That federal prosecutor contact does not replace local prosecution or Wayne Circuit Court record access.
The U.S. Attorney Eastern District source is also federal and separate from Kentucky state prosecution.
For Kentucky state felonies in Wayne County, Circuit Court records still run through the Wayne County Justice Center and the Kentucky Court of Justice.