Ky. Sup. Ct. Order 2025-22 (introduction)

Supreme Court of Kentucky

2025-22

AMENDED ORDER

IN RE: Authorization for the Non-Financial Uniform Schedule of Bail

Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol

This order hereby amends Supreme Court Order 2024-42, the Non-Financial Uniform Schedule of Bail Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol

("Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol”).

No local rules, practices, procedures, orders, or other policies of any district

or circuit may conflict with or controvert this order; further, to the extent that any

such local rules, practices, procedures, orders, or other policies are inconsistent or

otherwise conflict with this order, this order shall prevail.

NON-FINANCIAL UNIFORM SCHEDULE OF BAIL PRE-ARRAIGNMENT

RELEASE PROTOCOL

PART I: DEFINITIONS

As used in these sections, unless the context otherwise requires:

A. "Interview" means an investigation of a defendant for the purposes of pretrial

release or pretrial supervision.

B. "Investigation" means a Pretrial Services investigation containing CourtNet

and NCIC records, charge information, personal information and

demographics, probation status, address, and application of the PSA Risk

Assessment (See Appendix A).

C. "Non-Financial Uniform Schedule of Bail'' means the authority granted by

the court to a pretrial services specialist to apply a pre-determined release

decision to detained defendants based on a uniform schedule of bail without

the need for a judicial review.

D. “Pretrial Release” means release of a defendant from custody before his or

her trial date. It may be secured by any authorized method of pre-trial

release including but not limited to release on personal recognizance, on

nonfinancial conditions or upon execution of a bail bond. It does not include

the procedure for issuance of citation as provided in KRS 431.015.

E. "Public Safety Assessment (PSA) Risk Assessment" means the validated risk

assessment tool used in Kentucky, containing questions relating to risk of

flight or failure to appear and risk of anticipated criminal conduct or new

criminal activity.

F. "Risk Assessment" means an objective, research based, validated

assessment tool that measures a defendant's risk of flight or failure to

appear and risk of anticipated criminal conduct or new criminal activity

while on pretrial release pending adjudication.

G. "Risk scores" means the numeric values ranging from a low of 'O' to a high of

'7' that relates proportionally to the defendant's likelihood of failure to

appear (FTA) and from a low of 'O' to a high of '13' that relates proportionally

to the defendant's likelihood of new criminal activity (NCA) pending

adjudication.

H. "Risk level" means a scale from low to high of the risk a defendant poses of

pretrial failure (e.g., failing to appear or presenting a danger to the

community).

I. "Sexual Offenses" means any offense defined as sexual under Kentucky

Revised Statutes and those listed by Pretrial Services as sexual for purposes

of pretrial release (See Appendix A).

J. "Verification" means matching a defendant's identity with an official record.

K. "Verified and eligible defendant" means a defendant who is charged with a

bailable offense and whose identity Pretrial Services has confirmed through

investigation.

L. "Violent Offenses" means any offense defined as violent under Kentucky

Revised Statutes and those listed by Pretrial Services as violent for purposes

of pretrial release under this order (See Appendix A).

PART II: PRE-ARRAIGNMENT RELEASE PROTOCOL FOR THE PRETRIAL RISK

ASSESSMENT AND NON-FINANCIAL UNIFORM SCHEDULE OF BAIL

Section 1. Obligations of Pretrial Services and Pretrial Services Specialists

Except where explicitly noted, no provision set forth in this order shall absolve the

Administrative Office of the Courts pretrial services agency and pretrial services

specialists employed by the agency from following the Kentucky Rules of Criminal

Procedure, including but not limited to RCr 4.02, RCr 4.06, RCr 4.08, and RCr

4.38; and the Kentucky Revised Statutes, including but not limited to KRS

431.066, KRS 431.515, and KRS 431.518; and Administrative Procedures of the

Court of Justice Part XIV, Pretrial Services.

Section 2. Risk Assessment and Risk Level