On March 18, 2020, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Kentucky issued an Order in response to Governor Beshear’s declaration of a State of Emergency earlier this month. This most recent Order follows the Order issued on March 13, 2020, which cancelled in-person appearances from March 16, 2020 to April 10, 2020.  In order to better protect the health and safety of  court employees, elected officials, and the public, the Chief Justice created the following time extension for filings: for cases before the Supreme Court or the Kentucky Court of Appeals that originally had filing deadlines between March 16, 2020, and April 10, 2020, the applicable deadline has been extended thirty days.  Each of the Clerks of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are working with a reduced staff, but are still able to receive filings through the mail. Further, the respective Clerks of these Courts may arrange with the parties to receive filings electronically and to distribute service in accordance with the applicable rules.

This Order has two important qualifications that should be noted. First, per its terms, the Order applies only to filings with the Supreme Court of Kentucky or the Kentucky Court of Appeals—deadlines for filings at the Circuit and District Court levels appear to be unchanged. Additionally, the Order only affects filings with due dates between March 16, 2020, and April 10, 2020. Filings that were required before March 16 and after April 10 are not impacted by the current Order.