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Alabama Circuit Courts 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 least populous 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, 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 CircuitCounties Served: Choctaw, Clarke, Washington Circuit Seats: Choctaw County Courthouse (Butler), Clarke County Courthouse (Grove Hill), Washington County Courthouse (Chatom)
2nd CircuitCounties Served: Butler, Crenshaw, Lowndes District Seats: Butler County Courthouse (Greenville), Crenshaw County Courthouse (Luverne), Lowndes County Courthouse (Hayneville)
3rd CircuitCounties Served: Barbour, Bullock District Seats: Barbour County Courthouse (Clayton), Bullock County Courthouse (Union Springs)
4th CircuitCounties 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)
5th CircuitCounties Served: Chambers, Macon, Randolph, Tallapoosa 6th CircuitCounties Served: Tuscaloosa 7th CircuitCounties Served: Calhoun, Cleburne 8th CircuitCounties Served: Morgan 9th CircuitCounties Served: Cherokee, DeKalb 10th CircuitCounties Served: Jefferson 11th CircuitCounties Served: Lauderdale 12th Circuit13th CircuitCounties Served: Mobile 14th CircuitCounties Served: Walker 15th CircuitCounties Served: Montgomery 16th CircuitCounties Served: Etowah 17th CircuitCounties Served: Greene, Marengo, Sumter Judge Eddie Hardaway is the only Judge covering all three Counties 18th CircuitCounties Served: Shelby 19th CircuitCounties Served: Autauga, Chilton, Elmore 20th CircuitCounties Served: Henry, Houston 21st CircuitCounties Served: Escambia 22nd CircuitCounties Served: Covington 23rd CircuitCounties Served: Madison 24th CircuitJudge: Sam Junkin Counties Served: Fayette, Lamar, and Pickens. District Seats: Fayette Courthouse (Fayette), Lamar Courthouse (Vernon), Pickens Courthouse (Carrollton). 25th CircuitCounties Served: Marion, Winston 26th CircuitCounties Served: Russell
27th CircuitCounties Served: Marshall 28th CircuitCounties Served: Baldwin Circuit Court Judges Carmen Bosch, Jody W. Bishop, C. Joseph Norton, Scott P. Taylor, J. Clark Stankoski 29th CircuitCounties Served: Talledega 30th CircuitCounties Served: St. Clair 31st CircuitCounties Served: Colbert 32nd CircuitCounties Served: Cullman 33rd Circuit34th CircuitCounties Served: Franklin 35th CircuitCounties Served: Conecuh, Monroe 36th CircuitCounties Served: Lawrence 37th CircuitCounties Served: Lee 38th CircuitCounties Served: Jackson 39th CircuitCounties Served: Limestone 40th Circuit41st CircuitCounties Served: Blount See also
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