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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 Circuit

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

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

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

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

Counties Served: Chambers, Macon, Randolph, Tallapoosa

6th Circuit

Counties Served: Tuscaloosa

7th Circuit

Counties Served: Calhoun, Cleburne

8th Circuit

Counties Served: Morgan

9th Circuit

Counties Served: Cherokee, DeKalb

10th Circuit

Counties Served: Jefferson

11th Circuit

Counties Served: Lauderdale

12th Circuit

Counties Served: Coffee, Pike

13th Circuit

Counties Served: Mobile

14th Circuit

Counties Served: Walker

15th Circuit

Counties Served: Montgomery

16th Circuit

Counties Served: Etowah

17th Circuit

Counties Served: Greene, Marengo, Sumter

Judge Eddie Hardaway is the only Judge covering all three Counties

18th Circuit

Counties Served: Shelby

19th Circuit

Counties Served: Autauga, Chilton, Elmore

20th Circuit

Counties Served: Henry, Houston

21st Circuit

Counties Served: Escambia

22nd Circuit

Counties Served: Covington

23rd Circuit

Counties Served: Madison

24th Circuit

Judge: Sam Junkin

Counties Served: Fayette, Lamar, and Pickens.

District Seats: Fayette Courthouse (Fayette), Lamar Courthouse (Vernon), Pickens Courthouse (Carrollton).

25th Circuit

Counties Served: Marion, Winston

26th Circuit

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

Counties Served: Marshall

28th Circuit

Counties Served: Baldwin

Circuit Court Judges

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

29th Circuit

Counties Served: Talledega

30th Circuit

Counties Served: St. Clair

31st Circuit

Counties Served: Colbert

32nd Circuit

Counties Served: Cullman

33rd Circuit

Counties Served: Dale, Geneva

34th Circuit

Counties Served: Franklin

35th Circuit

Counties Served: Conecuh, Monroe

36th Circuit

Counties Served: Lawrence

37th Circuit

Counties Served: Lee

38th Circuit

Counties Served: Jackson

39th Circuit

Counties Served: Limestone

40th Circuit

Counties Served: Clay, Coosa

41st Circuit

Counties Served: Blount

References

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