How to Check a Summons Ticket

A party can check a summons by reading the summons to determine whether it relates to a civil or criminal case. In Kentucky, a summons is an order for a person to appear in court. It is a notice, not an arrest. The summons advises the person to appear in court on a particular day for jury selection or a certain legal proceeding.

A summons will likely not have a specific summons number. A summons will contain the number of the court case. A summons does not have a separate summons ticket. Kentucky Courtnet, or KY Courtnet, is an app that allows users to search civil and criminal cases online. The app provides access to summonses.

A party can be issued a summons for a number of reasons. A party may receive a summons to come to court for arraignment if she is the defendant in a criminal case. She may receive a summons to come to court for jury selection if she is a potential juror in a civil or criminal case. She may receive a summons to come to court to avoid judgment by default because an action has been filed against her in a civil case.

A summons does not go on a person’s record. There is no limit to the number of times a court can issue a summons. A court can issue different summonses for different cases. A party who was driving under the influence and hit another vehicle would likely receive both a criminal summons for his driving under the influence (DUI) case and a civil summons for a civil case for damages resulting from the accident.

A civil summons states the names of the plaintiff and defendant, the title and file number of the case, the court hearing the case and instructions on filing a response to the complaint. A criminal summons states the name of the defendant, the title and file number of the case, the charge and warrant number for the case, the court hearing the case and the time when the defendant must appear. A jury summons contains the name of the potential juror; numbers that identify the juror, such as the panel number; the court requiring that person’s presence; and the time when the person must appear.

A summons may contain an abbreviation that denotes the type of case it concerns. APS stands for adult protective services, a branch of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. CR stands for circuit criminal court, and CI stands for circuit civil court cases over $5,000.

A party should respond to a summons by appearing in court or hiring an attorney to represent her in court. A party can have an attorney appear in her place only if the type of case and the court allow an attorney to come in her place. A party who is charged with a crime that carries a penalty of incarceration will be assigned a public defender if she is indigent and required to hire private counsel if she is not.

Read More: What Happens If You Do Not Respond to a Civil Summons?

A default judgment results when the court enters a judgment against a party in a civil suit because he did not show up. The court requires the party to pay the judgment it determines. The opposing party in a civil lawsuit usually files a motion for default judgment when a defendant who has been served a civil summons does not reply in writing within 20 days.