Alabama Circuit Courts

Summary

The Alabama Circuit Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction in the State of Alabama. The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction to hear civil and criminal cases. For civil cases, the courts has authority to try cases with an amount in controversy of more than $3,000 and has exclusive original jurisdiction over claims for more than $10,000.[1] The Circuit Courts are the criminal trial courts for most felony charges,[2] and for some misdemeanors and lesser included offenses.[1] The Circuit Courts also have appellate jurisdiction over certain cases arising from the Alabama District Courts (the trial courts of limited jurisdiction in Alabama).

The state has 148 Circuit Court judges divided among 41 judicial circuits[3] with the number of judges to each circuit set by acts of the Alabama Legislature. The legislature distribution is roughly based upon caseloads of the various circuits. The largest circuit in the state is the 10th Judicial Circuit which encompasses Jefferson County (approximately 20 % of the state's population) and is the seat of 27 of the judges. The smallest circuits are the 2nd, 3rd, 24th, 34th, 35th, 36th, 40th, and 41st which each contain just a single judge and represent many of the smallest population counties in the state.

Circuit Judges are elected to six-year terms in partisan elections with no limit on the number of terms. Judges may not seek re-election upon turning seventy years of age. The partisan alignment of the Circuit Judges following the 2018 general election is 92 Republicans, 55 Democrats, and 1 Independent.[4] However, a large majority (35) of the Democrats 55 judgeships are in just two counties (Jefferson and Montgomery) while the Republican judgeships are spread among 45 different counties. In the event of a vacancy during a term of office, the Governor of Alabama usually has the authority to fill the unexpired terms. However, a limited number of the circuits (i.e., the 10th, 18th, 28th Circuits) have judicial commissions which submit nominees from which the Governor is obligated to choose. Upon retirement judges may choose to become active retired where they serve as special judges when called upon and are still held to the cannon of ethics. Judges may also serve as special judges outside of their respective circuit while holding office when called upon.

1st Circuit edit

Counties Served: Choctaw, Clarke, Washington

Circuit Seats: Choctaw County Courthouse (Butler), Clarke County Courthouse (Grove Hill), Washington County Courthouse (Chatom)

Current Judges[5]
Title Name Seat Duty Station Term Seat Up
Presiding Circuit Judge Gaines C. McCorquodale 1 Grove Hill 2009–present 2022
Circuit Judge Charles R. Montgomery 2 Chatom 2010–present 2022

2nd Circuit edit

Counties Served: Butler, Crenshaw, Lowndes

District Seats: Butler County Courthouse (Greenville), Crenshaw County Courthouse (Luverne), Lowndes County Courthouse (Hayneville)

Current Judge[6]
Title Name Duty Station Term Seat Up
Presiding Circuit Judge Terri Bozeman Lovell Greenville 2010–present 2018

3rd Circuit edit

Counties Served: Barbour, Bullock

District Seats: Barbour County Courthouse (Clayton), Bullock County Courthouse (Union Springs)

Current Judge[7]
Title Name Duty Station Term Seat Up
Presiding Circuit Judge Leon Bernard Smithart Union Springs 1999–present 2022

4th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Bibb, Dallas, Hale, Perry, Wilcox

District Seats: Bibb County Courthouse (Centreville), Dallas County Courthouse (Selma), Hale County Courthouse (Greensboro) Perry County Courthouse (Marion), Wilcox County Courthouse (Camden)

Current Judges[8]
Title Name Seat Duty Station Term Seat Up
Presiding Circuit Judge Marvin W. Wiggins 3 Greensboro 1999–present 2022
Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway, Jr. 1 Selma 2013–present 2018
Circuit Judge Donald McMillan 2

5th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Chambers, Macon, Randolph, Tallapoosa

6th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Tuscaloosa

7th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Calhoun, Cleburne

8th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Morgan

9th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Cherokee, DeKalb

10th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Jefferson

11th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Lauderdale

12th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Coffee, Pike

13th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Mobile

14th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Walker

15th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Montgomery

16th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Etowah

17th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Greene, Marengo, Sumter

Judge Eddie Hardaway is the only Judge covering all three Counties

18th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Shelby

19th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Autauga, Chilton, Elmore

20th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Henry, Houston

21st Circuit edit

Counties Served: Escambia

22nd Circuit edit

Counties Served: Covington

23rd Circuit edit

Counties Served: Madison

24th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Fayette, Lamar, Pickens

25th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Marion, Winston

26th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Russell

Current Judges
Party Title Name Seat Duty Station Term Seat Up
Democratic Presiding Circuit Judge Michael Bellamy 1 Phenix City 2013–present 2022
Democratic Circuit Judge Albert David Johnson 2 Phenix City 2014–present 2026

27th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Marshall

28th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Baldwin

Circuit Court Judges

Carmen Bosch, Jody W. Bishop, C. Joseph Norton, Scott P. Taylor, J. Clark Stankoski

29th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Talledega

30th Circuit edit

Counties Served: St. Clair

31st Circuit edit

Counties Served: Colbert

32nd Circuit edit

Counties Served: Cullman

33rd Circuit edit

Counties Served: Dale, Geneva

34th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Franklin

35th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Conecuh, Monroe

36th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Lawrence

37th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Lee

38th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Jackson

39th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Limestone

40th Circuit edit

Counties Served: Clay, Coosa

41st Circuit edit

Counties Served: Blount

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b The Guide to Alabama Courts
  2. ^ District Courts may hear guilty pleas in felony cases not invoking capital punishment.
  3. ^ Alabama Unified Judicial System Structure Archived 2010-05-27 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ^ Williams & Garrett, The Alabama Guide (2009)
  5. ^ "Search: Circuit 1". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017
  6. ^ "Search: Circuit 2". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
  7. ^ "Search: Circuit 3". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
  8. ^ "Search: Circuit 4". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.