Title 12

If any grand juror knows or has reason to believe that a public offense has been committed which may be indicted and tried in that county, it shall be his duty to disclose the same to his fellow jurors, who must thereupon investigate it. (Code 1852, §547; Code 1867, §4097; Code 1…

(a) A grand juror must not be present at or take any part in the deliberations of his fellow jurors respecting any public offense with which he is charged or which was committed against his person or property or when he is a prosecutor or when he is connected by blood or marriage…

If the foreman of a grand jury is discharged or excused for any cause after the jury is sworn or charged, the court may appoint one of the other jurors in his place. (Acts 1955, No. 577, p. 1253.)

The district attorney must attend before the grand jury when required by them, and he may do so whenever he sees fit for the purpose of examining witnesses in their presence or giving them legal advice as to any matter connected with their duties; and he may appear before them at…

Any judge, district attorney, clerk or other officer of court or grand juror who discloses the fact that an indictment has been found before the person indicted has been arrested or has given bail for his appearance to answer thereto shall, on conviction, be fined not less than $…

Any person who, having been a witness before the grand jury, discloses the name of the person about whom he testified or any of the facts to which he testified before the arrest of the person against whom he testified or before such person has given bail for his appearance to ans…

Witnesses before the grand jury, summoned to give evidence of any violation of the laws against gaming or lotteries, may be required to answer generally as to any such offense, within their knowledge, committed within the 12 months next preceding, without being first specially in…

Any person who is summoned as a witness before the grand jury to answer as to any gaming or lottery within his knowledge and who fails or refuses to attend and testify in obedience to such summons without a good excuse, to be determined by the court, is guilty of a contempt and a…

The Legislature hereby finds, declares and determines that it is essential to the fair and impartial administration of justice that all grand jury proceedings be secret and that the secrecy of such proceedings remain inviolate. The provisions of this division are to be construed …

No past or present grand juror, past or present grand jury witness or grand jury reporter or stenographer shall willfully at any time directly or indirectly, conditionally or unconditionally, by any means whatever, reveal, disclose or divulge or attempt or endeavor to reveal, dis…

No past or present grand juror, past or present grand jury witness or grand jury reporter or stenographer shall willfully at any time, directly or indirectly, conditionally or unconditionally, by any means whatever, reveal, disclose or divulge or endeavor to reveal, disclose or d…

No person shall willfully by any means whatever, directly or indirectly, conditionally or unconditionally, obstruct, impede or prevent or attempt or endeavor to obstruct, impede or prevent any person summoned, subpoenaed or called to testify before any grand jury of this state or…

No person shall injure or endeavor to injure the property or person of any grand juror, witness, prosecutor, judicial officer, or grand jury reporter as a result of their participation in, appearance, or testimony before any duly empaneled grand jury. (Acts 1979, No. 79-457, p. 7…

Any prosecutor, grand jury foreman, or circuit court may require all persons testifying in or before a grand jury to submit to an oath or affirmation of secrecy. The failure of any witness to be so sworn shall not relieve such witness of any criminal liability imposed by this div…

Grand jury evidence other than the questions, considerations, debates, deliberations, opinions or votes of any grand juror may be disclosed by a district attorney or other prosecutor in the performance of his official duties to members of his staff for the purposes of bona fide c…

A district attorney or other prosecutor may, in his or her discretion, disclose evidence taken within or before the grand juries of such circuit to law enforcement officers for the purpose of bona fide investigations into violations of criminal law. A district attorney or a circu…

No provision of this division shall be construed to deny a witness or criminal defendant the right to confer with or be represented by counsel concerning his appearance within or testimony before a duly empaneled grand jury, provided however, nothing contained in this section sha…

Grand juries shall make no reports critical of any citizen of this state without returning an indictment or bill of impeachment against the same. It shall be the duty of the circuit judges of the respective judicial circuits of this state, on their own motion, to expunge from any…

The grand juries of this state may make written reports as provided by law, however, the judges of each judicial circuit may provide by court rule for the form and content of such grand jury reports to accomplish the purposes of this division. (Acts 1979, No. 79-457, p. 745, §11.…

Any person violating the provisions of Sections 12-16-215 through 12-16-218 of this division, shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than three years, or fined not more than $5,000.00, or both. (Acts 1979, No. 79-457, p. 7…

All laws or parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this division are hereby repealed; provided, however, the criminal penalties imposed by this division shall be cumulative. This section shall not be construed to preclude the applicability of other provisions of the cri…

If, before the jury retires, one of them becomes so sick as to incapacitate him for the performance of his duty or any other cause renders it necessary, in the opinion of the court, to discharge a juror, such juror may be discharged, another summoned in his place and the trial co…

If after the jury retire one of them becomes so sick as to prevent the discharge of his duty or any other cause or accident occurs to prevent their being kept together for deliberation, they may be discharged. (Code 1852, §650; Code 1867, §4202; Code 1876, §4907; Code 1886, §4454…

(a) At any stage of a trial then pending, whether the jury has retired or not, the parties may unanimously consent in open court, with legal effectiveness, to the discharge from further duty of any member of the jury trying the case and to a continuation of the trial and the rend…

The court or presiding judge in all cases of jury trial may discharge the jury without giving a verdict, with the consent of all parties to the trial or without the consent of the parties, when, in the opinion of the court or judge, there is a manifest necessity for the discharge…

(a) County personnel. - All full-time county personnel, including all persons for whom funding is provided by the unified judicial budget, serving the district and circuit courts, other than sheriff’s deputies and employees and building maintenance and security personnel, shall b…

Except as otherwise provided by law, all court personnel shall be included in the state employee personnel system; provided, that job descriptions, regulations, rates of compensation and administrative procedures applicable to court personnel shall be established by the Administr…

Court employees, including, but not limited to, active and supernumerary court reporters, clerks, registers and persons employed in those offices, shall be reimbursed by the state in the same manner as state employees generally for their expenses incurred in the performance of of…

(a) Retirement. - Employees of the circuit and district court, hereinafter “eligible employees,” shall, on the date they join or joined the state personnel system, be covered by the Employees’ Retirement System of Alabama; provided, that an employee who on that date is covered by…

In the performance of any duties provided for by Sections 12-17-94(a) and 12-17-251(c), every magistrate and clerk of the circuit and district courts of this state shall have absolute judicial immunity from any liability arising from the execution of the duties provided for by Se…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, each judicial circuit of the state shall have one resident circuit judge. (b) In the following judicial circuits, there shall be the number of resident circuit judges listed below: (1) There shall be two circuit judges in the firs…

In judicial circuits with more than one circuit judge, each judgeship shall be numbered. Candidates for the office of circuit judge in such circuits in any election shall designate the numbered judgeship for which they are a candidate. (Acts 1977, No. 20, p. 28.)

Each circuit judge must have resided in the circuit for which he is elected or appointed for at least 12 months preceding his election or appointment and must reside in such circuit during his continuance in office. (Code 1852, §§626, 643; Code 1867, §§744, 761; Code 1876, §§665,…

The presiding judge of a circuit shall be elected by a majority vote of circuit judges in the circuit. In the event of the failure of any judge to receive a majority vote, the Supreme Court shall provide by rule for selection of the presiding judge. (Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384,…

The presiding circuit judge shall exercise a general supervision of the judges, clerks, registers, court reporters, bailiffs, sheriffs and other court employees of the circuit and district courts within the circuit, except employees of the clerk, and see that they attend strictly…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), the presiding circuit judge of any judicial circuit may establish by means of a written order, a family court division or divisions of the judicial circuit. The presiding circuit judge shall assign one or more of the existing circuit or d…

(a) The Family Court Division of the Circuit Court of the 37th Judicial Circuit shall handle all cases and proceedings involving divorces, annulments of marriages, custody and support of children, granting and enforcement of alimony, proceedings under any reciprocal non-support a…

Any judge shall, whenever he deems it necessary, call on the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to assign one or more judges to relieve the judges who need assistance in clearing dockets, civil and criminal. (Acts 1915, No. 712, p. 809; Acts 1919, No. 321, p. 275; Code 1923, §669…

Circuit judges have the following authority and duties: (1) To grant stays of proceedings and writs of certiorari, quo warranto, mandamus and all other remedial and original writs which are grantable by judges at common law. (2) To grant writs of injunction and ne exeat, returnab…

Whenever a circuit judge has jurisdiction of any case, it shall not be necessary for him to be in the judicial circuit in which the case is pending to make interlocutory or final orders or judgments in said case, but any such order or judgment may be made by said judge in any par…

Judges of circuit courts may grant writs of certiorari directed to judges of district and municipal courts in all cases where appeals lie from such courts to the circuit court. (Acts 1915, No. 821, p. 941; Code 1923, §6711; Code 1940, T. 13, §184.)

When any circuit judge fails to attend, the court stands adjourned from day to day until the judge or another circuit or special judge appears to open and hold the court. (Code 1852, §633; Code 1867, §751; Code 1876, §660; Code 1886, §759; Code 1896, §922; Code 1907, §3260; Code …

(a) Circuit judges shall receive an annual state salary in the amount of $34,000 commencing October 1, 1979. (b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to Section 12-17-68 and Section 12-17-92. (c) Any salary supplement received by any circuit judge or district attorney w…

(a) All laws dealing with the eligibility of judges of the circuit court to assume duties and obligations, and to claim and receive benefits, as supernumerary judges are, as to all persons who were eligible to assume such duties and obligations and claim and receive such benefits…

District court boundaries, for the purpose of election of district court judges, shall be coterminous with county boundaries unless otherwise provided in Section 12-17-61; provided, that the geographic area for the purpose of election of district court judges shall not alter or m…

Each county shall constitute a district and shall have one resident district judge, except that: (1) Lee, Etowah, Russell, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Houston, Dale, Marshall, Cullman, Chambers, Elmore, Limestone, St. Clair, and DeKalb Counties shall each have two resident dis…