The Administrative Office of the Courts is the operational arm of the Judicial Branch. The AOC supports court facilities and programs in all 120 counties, with its main campus in Frankfort.
The AOC was established in 1976 as a result of the Judicial Article. The Judicial Article created Kentucky's unified court system and made the chief justice head of the state court system, also known as the Kentucky Court of Justice.
The AOC carries out duties that are mandated by the Kentucky Constitution, including administering the Judicial Branch budget, building and maintaining court facilities, maintaining court statistics through a statewide case management database, administering personnel policies and payroll for court personnel, and providing educational programs for judges, circuit court clerks and support staff.
The Kentucky Court of Justice has earned a national reputation for many of its initiatives, including Family Court, Drug Court, judicial center facilities, judicial education, pretrial services, juvenile justice reform, court interpreting services, and diversity awareness. Its statewide case management system has put Kentucky on the cutting edge of court technology.
The Kentucky court system is committed to providing fair and equal treatment to its personnel and to the citizens who come before its courts, regardless of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
