Hopkins County
Hopkins County was named after General Samuel Hopkins. It is situated in the western region of Kentucky and was established in 1806 from Henderson County. Its county seat is Madisonville, and its land area measures around 542 square miles. As of 2020, the county had 45,423 residents.
Hopkins County's judicial system is comprised of Circuit and District courts. The Circuit Court handles major civil and criminal cases, including felonies, capital offenses, and disputes exceeding $5,000. It also hears cases related to divorce, adoption, contested probate, real estate matters, and administrative appeals. The District Court of Hopkins County hears local ordinance violation cases, misdemeanors, and civil cases involving amounts under $5,000. It also conducts preliminary hearings for felonies. The court has a Juvenile Division that addresses child neglect, abuse, juvenile delinquency, and minor traffic violations. It also has a Small Claims Division that resolves disputes involving amounts less than $2,500.
Public court records are official documents generated during legal proceedings. These documents highlight the sequence of events, judicial reasoning, and resolutions reached in various legal disputes resolved by Hopkins County's courts. They typically include details such as case filings, docket numbers, names of the parties, arguments presented by their attorneys, and the final judgment of the court in the case. These records are managed by the Hopkins County Clerk of Courts. They include:
- Civil records
- Criminal records
- Probate records
- Family court records
Per provisions of the Kentucky Open Records Act, the Clerk's Office is legally required to provide access to public court records. Requests can be made by mail or by visiting the office in person at:
24 Union Street
Madisonville, KY 42431
Phone: (270) 821-7361
Interested individuals can also access the records online via KYeCourts, the state judiciary's online court records repository. This tool allows users to locate cases by entering search criteria such as the names of the parties involved, case numbers, or case citations. To narrow the search effectively, users should remember to select "Hopkins County" as the jurisdiction.
Court record requests from Hopkins County may cost the requester certain fees depending on the specific type of document requested. For example, uncertified copies of court records cost $0.10 per page. Records like CDs/DVDs recordings or other digital files typically cost around $10 per file.
