LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – In the last week of February, nearly 8,500 violations, typically traffic citations, were filed in courts across Kentucky.
By the end of March, that number dropped more than tenfold, with only 756 violations filed statewide.
And criminal cases plummeted at the same time, falling from more than 15,000 felony and misdemeanor cases filed in Kentucky district courts at the end of February to about 4,800 cases by the time March ended, a drop of more than two-thirds.
The statistics are jarring but not a surprise to anyone involved in the state's legal system right now.
Courts across Kentucky have been mostly shuttered since March 16 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with even attorneys and citizens barred since April 1 unless they have an emergency hearing.
Criminal and civil dockets are, for the most part, on hold at least through May.
"I've been all over the state and the courthouses are a ghost town," said Louisville defense attorney Ted Shouse. "Some places have ground almost to a halt."
A grand jury in Louisville last met on March 19. No one has been indicted since then.
Defendants can be held in jail up to 60 days without being indicted by a grand jury, under state law.
For defendants charged with the most serious crimes, prosecutors are currently asking judges to extend that rule by an additional 45 days.
The number of misdemeanor cases, the least serious criminal charges, fell from more than 11,000 cases filed statewide the last week of February to about 2,700 a month later, according to statistics provided by the state Administrative Office of the Courts.
The numbers are partly a reminder that there simply aren't as many people outside to arrest, with most businesses closed and large gatherings prohibited.
In addition, many law enforcement agencies have announced that police activity has purposefully been slowed to ensure officers have as little contact with the public as possible right now.
“We are saying to officers, ‘if you can let something go with a warning, do that,’” said Jessie Halladay, a spokeswoman for the department. “Obviously, we are living through a time we have never experienced before. We expected, with more people staying home, fewer arrests and citations.”
On March 17, the Louisville Metro Police Department told its officers they would would no longer respond to several emergency situations, including calls claiming someone was speeding.
In Jefferson County, the number of "violations," most of which are traffic citations, fell from about 900 cases the last week of February to just over 100 each of the last two weeks in March.
However, if someone is excessively speeding and causing a risk to others, LMPD will still write the person a ticket, Halladay said.
In Jefferson County, the total number of felony and misdemeanor cases fell from about 1,000 filed during the last week of February to less than 450 by the end of March.
Halladay said this doesn’t mean officers aren’t still active and there has been a "misunderstanding" in the community that police aren't responding to calls for assistance.
"We are still out there every day," she said. "We are trying to have as much presence as we can in the community … and are certainly responding to those things that create a safety problem for people."
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