Kentucky's 48th Judicial Circuit, Division 1 - Re-Election of Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd
*Phillip J. Shepherd
Address:
333 W Main Street
Frankfort KY 40601
Phone: 502.319.5628
Email: contact@phillipshepherd.com
Candidate Website
Candidate Facebook Page
(Photo source: Candidate Facebook page)
*Incumbent
48th Circuit Division 1 Judge Phillip J. Shepherd
Circuit courts are part of Kentucky's unified court system, which was created by the Judicial Article to the Kentucky Constitution, passed in 1975 and effective in 1976. The article created the Judicial Branch as an independent branch of government, separate from the Executive & Legislative branches and from county and city governments. The judicial branch is generally called the Kentucky Court of Justice.
The Kentucky Court of Justice has implemented many initiatives, including Family Court, Drug Court, judicial center facilities, judicial education, pretrial services, & family & juvenile services, among others. Circuit Court is the court of general jurisdiction that hears civil matters involving more than $5,000, capital offenses and felonies, land dispute title cases & contested probate cases. Kentucky is home to 57 circuit courts & 95 circuit judges (i.e. some circuits, such as Franklin, have more than one circuit judge).
Each circuit court represents one to four counties; the Franklin Circuit includes only Franklin County, with three (3) Divisions, including the family court (highlighted in purple on the map of Circuit Judges, below). The Franklin Circuit Court offices are at the Franklin County Courthouse, 222 St. Clair St., Frankfort, KY
Circuit court judges serve 8-year terms & are selected in nonpartisan elections. Qualifications for filing to run include:
- ~ Must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of both the Commonwealth and of the district from which he/she is elected for 2 years next preceding his taking office
- ~ Must be licensed to practice law in the courts of the Commonwealth
- ~ Must be a licensed attorney for at least 8 years.