{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-453.190","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 453.190","heading":"\"Poor person\" defined -- When  allowed to sue without paying costs --","body":"Application required -- Treatment of inmates.\n(1) A  court shall allow a poor person residing in this state to file or defend any\naction or appeal therein without paying costs, whereupon he shall have any\ncounsel that the court assigns him and shall have from all officers all needful\nservices and process, including the preparation of necessary transcripts for\nappeal, without any fees, except such as are included in the costs recovered\nfrom the adverse party, and shall not be required to post any bond except in an\namount and manner reasonable under the circumstances of his poverty.\n(2) A \"poor person\" means a person who has an income at or below one hundred\npercent (100%) on the sliding scale of indigency established by the Supreme\nCourt of Kentucky by rule or is unable to pay the costs and fees of the\nproceeding in which he is involved without depriving himself or his dependents\nof the necessities of life, including food, shelter, or clothing.\n(3) Application to proceed without payment  of costs and  fees, pursuant to\nsubsection (1) herein, shall be made by motion supported by the affidavit of the\napplicant stating the reasons that he is unable to pay the costs and fees or give\nsecurity therefor.\n(4) No  inmate shall be automatically allowed to proceed through the courts in\nforma pauperis by virtue of his status as an inmate, nor shall his incarceration\nlead to a presumption of impoverishment, or constitute evidence of a rebuttable\npresumption of impoverishment.\n(5) A  court may consider the value of all of the benefits an inmate receives by\nvirtue of his incarceration and  for which the inmate has not monetarily\nreimbursed the Commonwealth, including, among other things, the value of his\nroom, board, medical care, dental care, recreational programming, educational\nopportunities offered to the inmate, legal services provided to the inmate\nwithout cost, clothing, laundry, guard protection services, or any other benefit\nsimilarly conferred upon the inmate.","path":["KRS Chapter 453"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=46760","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:57Z","sha256":"15e774c24aaba6694c702e267962219090b5b720fef67d621d16198e11752dd1","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-453.180","next":"us-ky/krs-453.200"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}