Kentucky's four-tier court system was established by the passage of the Judicial Article to the Kentucky Constitution in 1975, which went into effect July 15, 1976. The Judicial Article created the Court of Justice as an independent branch of government separate from the Executive and Legislative branches and from local county and city governments.

Kentucky�s trial courts first hear the facts and issue judgments on those facts. Appeals courts may be asked to review the judgment of another court to see if a mistake was made. An appeals court generally cannot hear any new evidence and must rule on what was presented to the trial court. Kentuckians have the right to one appeal per lawsuit. Beyond this one "matter of right" appeal, further appeals are discretionary and the appellate court may refuse to review such cases.