Anger Management in Kentucky: Diversion, Conditional Discharge and Your Class

Kentucky has no law that says "anger management" by name for adults. Instead, KRS 533.030 lets a judge attach any condition the court thinks is reasonably needed to help you live a law-abiding life. An anger class is one of the conditions judges reach for after a fight, a threat, a road-rage stop or property damage. Here is where it tends to show up:

• County attorney diversion. In district court, misdemeanors are prosecuted by the elected county attorney. Many offices run diversion for first-time charges. You agree to finish tasks, and the charge is dismissed at the end. In Louisville, the Jefferson County Attorney runs well-known diversion programs, including one for first DUI cases. In Lexington, the Fayette County Attorney lists a criminal diversion program. The agreement, not a statute, lists your class.
• AOC Pretrial Services. The Administrative Office of the Courts runs Pretrial Services in every county. In some counties it also runs a misdemeanor diversion program for people with little or no record. Pretrial officers keep track of what the agreement asks you to finish.
• Felony pretrial diversion. Under KRS 533.250, each judicial circuit has to offer pretrial diversion for eligible Class D felonies. The Commonwealth's Attorney recommends the terms and the circuit judge signs off. Diversion can last up to five years.
• Conditional discharge. KRS 533.020 lets a judge release you on conditions without a probation officer. For a misdemeanor, it can last up to two years. The judge, the clerk or Pretrial staff may check that you finished the class.
• Probation. Felony probation is supervised by the Kentucky Department of Corrections, Division of Probation and Parole, through numbered district offices (Louisville is District 19). District court judges may also ask the state to supervise misdemeanor probation. In a county with an urban-county government, the law says the local government runs its own misdemeanant probation agency instead. That is how Lexington-Fayette is set up.

Read your order or diversion agreement first. If it says "anger management" and nothing else, the person who supervises you or the court clerk can tell you the hours they want.

We looked and found no Kentucky list of anger management providers. No state office reviews these classes. The one state system for this kind of work is the Cabinet for Health and Family Services program for batterer intervention, and that covers partner violence cases only.

In 2015 a bill in the Kentucky House would have added a small court cost for anyone sent to anger classes "operated or approved" by the Cabinet. It died in committee, and no such approval process exists today.

What you will run into is local habit:

• The Department of Corrections publishes community resource manuals for each Probation and Parole district. These list local classes, including Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) anger groups. They are referral lists for people under state supervision, not a list of the only classes allowed.
• Some officers and judges keep their own short list of local groups they know.
• Diversion staff in a county attorney's office may hand you a referral sheet with their program packet.

If someone hands you a sheet, ask whether a class from outside it can count. Good Standing Courses is not on any Kentucky court, county attorney, Pretrial or Department of Corrections list.

There is no Kentucky statute, court rule or statewide policy that we could find on online anger classes. KRS 533.030 leaves conditions to the judge. That means the answer comes from your judge, your diversion coordinator, your Pretrial officer or your Probation and Parole officer.

We also did not find a published rule from the Jefferson District Court in Louisville or the Fayette District Court in Lexington that bans online anger classes or limits them to a list. Some judges write "in person" right into the order. Some county attorney diversion packets name a local provider. If either is true for you, follow it.

What helps an officer say yes:

• The certificate shows the exact number of hours in your order.
• It shows when you started and when you finished, not just one date.
• The officer can check it online without calling anyone.
• You ask before you start, and you save their answer in writing (a text or email works).

Our certificate has an ID and a verify page for exactly this reason. If your Kentucky officer or judge still turns it down, the refund below applies.

Kentucky law does not set hours for anger classes. Hours come from the judge's order, the diversion agreement or the officer. Our honest read of what Kentucky orders and local programs show:

• 8 hours is common for a first misdemeanor, diversion or a one-day class. Louisville has hosted one-day, 8-hour anger workshops.
• 12 hours fits orders that follow a 10- to 12-session group model. Department of Corrections MRT anger groups run about 8 to 10 sessions.
• 16 hours or more shows up when a judge wants a longer course, often on a felony or a second case.
• 4 hours is rare. Use it only if your paper says 4.

We are less sure about these numbers than in states with a published standard. If your order gives no hours, ask before you start, not after.