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.

In 2017, the Alabama Legislature established the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission for the purpose of moving vacant circuit court seats between districts to meet demand. It reallocated a circuit court seat for the first time in 2023, moving Jefferson County's 14th seat to Madison County.^[5] In May 2023, Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill that increased the total number of circuit and district judges throughout the state, and forbade the Allocation Commission from reallocating vacant seats until January 1, 2027, after the 2026 general election.^[6]

List of elected judges

The following judges were elected in the 2020, 2022, and 2024 general elections:^[7][8][9]

Circuit	Place	Judge	Party	Last elected	Counties served	Notes
1st	No. 1	J. Perry Newton	Republican	2022	Choctaw, Clarke, Washington
	No. 2	Charles R. Montgomery	Republican	2022
2nd		Cleve Poole	Republican	2024	Butler, Crenshaw, Lowndes
3rd		Burt Smithart	Democratic	2022	Barbour, Bullock
4th	No. 1	Collins Pettaway Jr.	Democratic	2024	Bibb, Dallas, Hale, Perry, Wilcox
	No. 2	Don McMillan	Democratic	2022
	No. 3	Marvin Wayne Wiggins	Democratic	2022
5th	No. 1	Kevin M. Hall	Republican	2022	Chambers, Macon, Randolph, Tallapoosa
	No. 2	Isaac Whorton	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Steve Perryman	Republican	2024
6th	No. 1	Brad Almond	Republican	2022	Tuscaloosa
	No. 2	Jim Roberts Jr.	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Elizabeth Colwick Hamner	Republican	2024
	No. 4	Daniel F. Pruet	Republican	2024
	No. 5	Al May	Republican	2024
	No. 6	Dennis Steverson	Republican	2022
	No. 7	Vacant		2026		Seat established in 2023[6]
7th	No. 1	Dustin Merritt	Republican	2024	Calhoun, Cleburne
	No. 2	Timothy C. Burgess	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Jennifer Weems	Republican	2022
	No. 4	Peggy P. Miller Lacher	Republican	2020
	No. 5	Shannon C. Page	Republican	2022
8th	No. 1	Jennifer Millwee Howell	Republican	2024	Morgan
	No. 2	Charles B. Elliott	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Stephen Fate Brown	Republican	2024
9th	No. 1	Shaunathan Bell	Republican	2024	Cherokee, DeKalb
	No. 2	Andrew Hairston	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Jeremy Taylor	Republican	2022
10th	No. 1	Anne L. Durward	Democratic	2022	Jefferson
	No. 2	Shanta Owens	Democratic	2020
	No. 3	Kechia Davis	Democratic	2020
	No. 4	Javan Joielle Patton	Democratic	2022
	No. 5	David Carpenter	Democratic	2024
	No. 6	Chuck Price	Democratic	2024
	No. 7	Tiara Young Hudson	Democratic	2024
	No. 8	Marshell Jackson Hatcher	Democratic	2024
	No. 9	Shera Craig Grant	Democratic	2024
	No. 10	Patrick James Ballard	Democratic	2020
	No. 11	Brendette Brown Green	Democratic	2022
	No. 12	Thomas E. Thrash	Democratic	2022
	No. 13	Frederic A. Bolling	Democratic	2024
	No. 14	Vacant		2016		Seat abolished in 2022
	No. 15	Patricia Ann Stephens	Democratic	2024
	No. 16	Kandice Pickett	Democratic	2022
	No. 17	Elisabeth French	Democratic	2022
	No. 18	Janine Hunt-Hilliard	Democratic	2024
	No. 19	David J. Hobdy	Democratic	2022
	No. 20	Alisha Ruffin May	Democratic	2022
	No. 21	Monica Agee	Democratic	2022
	No. 22	Tamara Harris Johnson	Democratic	2022
	No. 23	Adrienne Moffett Powell	Democratic	2022
	No. 24	Stephen Wallace	Democratic	2022
	No. 25	Reginald L. Jeter	Democratic	2022
	No. 26	Michael Streety	Democratic	2022
	No. 27	Alaric May	Democratic	2024
11th	No. 1	Benjamin Graves	Republican	2022	Lauderdale
	No. 2	Will Powell	Republican	2022
	No. 3	Gil Self	Republican	2022
	No. 4	Carole Coil Medley	Republican	2024		Seat established in 2023[6]
12th	No. 1	Sonny Reagan	Republican	2024	Coffee, Pike
	No. 2	Shannon R. Clark	Republican	2022
	No. 3	Jeff W. Kelley	Republican	2022
13th	No. 1	Wes Pipes	Republican	2024	Mobile
	No. 2	Ben Brooks	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Michael Windom	Republican	2024
	No. 4	Jay York	Republican	2024
	No. 5	Walter Honeycutt	Republican	2024
	No. 6	Brandy B. Hambright	Republican	2024
	No. 7	Jill P. Phillips	Republican	2022
	No. 8	Edmond G. Naman	Republican	2024
	No. 9	Michael Sherman	Republican	2024
	No. 10	Michael A. Youngpeter	Republican	2024
	No. 11	Vicki Davis	Republican	2024
14th	No. 1	Joeletta Martin Barrentine	Republican	2020	Walker
	No. 2	Doug Farris	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Gregory M. Williams	Republican	2024
15th	No. 1	Greg Griffin	Democratic	2022	Montgomery
	No. 2	Brooke E. Reid	Democratic	2020
	No. 3	Monica L. Arrington	Democratic	2022
	No. 4	J. R. Gaines	Democratic	2020
	No. 5	James H. Anderson	Democratic	2022
	No. 6	Monet Mccorvey Gaines	Democratic	2024
	No. 7	Lloria Munnerlyn James	Democratic	2020
	No. 8	Calvin L. Williams	Democratic	2022
	No. 9	Johnny Hardwick	Democratic	2020
16th	No. 1	George C. Day	Republican	2024	Etowah
	No. 2	Brynn Crain	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Sonny J. Steen	Republican	2024
	No. 4	Cody D. Robinson	Republican	2024
17th		Gregory S. Griggers	Democratic	2024	Greene, Marengo, Sumter
18th	No. 1	Jonathan A. Spann	Republican	2022	Shelby
	No. 2	Patrick E. Kennedy	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Bill Bostick	Republican	2022
	No. 4	Lara McCauley Alvis	Republican	2022
19th	No. 1	Patrick D. Pinkston	Republican	2024	Autauga, Chilton, Elmore
	No. 2	Joy Pace Booth	Republican	2022
	No. 3	Amanda Baxley	Republican	2022
	No. 4	Dee Dee Calhoon	Republican	2024		Seat established in 2023[6]
	No. 5	Vacant		2026		Seat established in 2023[6]
20th	No. 1	John John Steensland	Republican	2024	Henry, Houston
	No. 2	J. Kevin Moulton	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Butch Binford	Republican	2022
	No. 4	Chris Richardson	Republican	2022
	No. 5	Todd Derrick	Republican	2020
21st	No. 1	Jeff White	Republican	2024	Escambia
	No. 2	Jeffrey Todd Stearns	Republican	2022
22nd	No. 1	Lex Short	Republican	2024	Covington
	No. 2	Benjamin M. Bowden	Republican	2022
23rd	No. 1	Karen K. Hall	Republican	2024	Madison
	No. 2	Alison Austin	Republican	2020
	No. 3	Ruth Ann Hall	Republican	2024
	No. 4	Claude Hundley	Republican	2020
	No. 5	Donna S. Pate	Republican	2024
	No. 6	Chris Comer	Republican	2022
	No. 7	Alan Mann	Republican	2022
	No. 8	Patrick M. Tuten	Republican	2024
	No. 9	Don Rizzardi	Republican	2024		Seat established in 2023[6]
24th		Sam Junkin	Republican	2022	Fayette, Lamar, Pickens
25th	No. 1	Daryl Burt	Republican	2020	Marion, Winston
	No. 2	Talmage Lee Carter	Republican	2024
26th	No. 1	Zachary T. Collins	Democratic	2022	Russell
	No. 2	David Johnson	Democratic	2020
27th	No. 1	Christopher F. Abel	Republican	2022	Marshall
	No. 2	Jay M. Mastin	Republican	2024
	No. 3	Matt Elliott	Republican	2024
28th	No. 1	Joseph Norton	Republican	2024	Baldwin
	No. 2	Jody W. Bishop	Republican	2024
	No. 3	J. Clark Stankoski	Republican	2024
	No. 4	Scott P. Taylor	Republican	2022
	No. 5	Carmen Bosch	Republican	2020
	No. 6	Karol J. Kemp	Republican	2024		Seat established in 2023[6]
	No. 7	Vacant		2026		Seat established in 2023[6]
29th	No. 1	Chad E. Woodruff	Republican	2024	Talledega
	No. 2	Will Hollingsworth	Republican	2024
30th	No. 1	Bill Weathington	Republican	2022	St. Clair
	No. 2	James E. Hill III	Republican	2024
31st	No. 1	Mitch Hays	Republican	2024	Colbert
	No. 2	Kyle W. Brown	Republican	2024
32nd	No. 1	Gregory A. Nicholas	Republican	2024	Cullman
	No. 2	Emily Niezer Johnston	Republican	2024
33rd	No. 1	Bill Filmore	Republican	2024	Dale, Geneva
	No. 2	Kimberly A. Clark	Republican	2022
34th		Brian Hamilton	Republican	2024	Franklin
35th		Jack Booker Weaver	Democratic	2024	Conecuh, Monroe
36th		Callie Chenault Waldrep	Republican	2022	Lawrence
37th	No. 1	Jeff Tickal	Republican	2022	Lee
	No. 2	Chris Hughesk	Republican	2022
	No. 3	Mike Fellows	Republican	2022
	No. 4	Vacant		2026		Seat established in 2023[6]
38th	No. 1	John Graham	Democratic	2024	Jackson
	No. 2	Brent Benson	Republican	2020
39th	No. 1	Chad Wise	Republican	2022	Limestone
	No. 2	Matthew R. Huggins	Republican	2022
40th		David F. Law	Republican	2024	Clay, Coosa
41st		Greg Reid	Republican	2024	Blount

1st Circuit

Counties Served: Choctaw, Clarke, Washington

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

Current Judges^[10]

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^[11]

Party	Title	Name	Duty Station	Term	Seat Up
Republican	Presiding Circuit Judge	Cleve Poole	Greenville	2021–present	2030

3rd Circuit

Counties Served: Barbour, Bullock

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

Current Judge^[12]

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^[13]

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

Current Judges^[14]

Party	Title	Name	Term	Seat Up	Source
Democratic	Presiding Circuit Judge	John Graham	2006-Present	2030	[15]
Republican	Circuit Judge	Brent Benson	2020-Present	2026	[16]

39th Circuit

Counties Served: Limestone

40th Circuit

Counties Served: Clay, Coosa

41st Circuit

Counties Served: Blount

See also

• Courts of Alabama
• Supreme Court of Alabama
• Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals
• Alabama Court of Civil Appeals

References

1. 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. Gann, Heather (March 24, 2023). "Alabama Supreme Court allows Jefferson County judgeship transfer to Madison County". AL.com. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
6. "Senate Bill 39 as enrolled" (PDF). Secretary of State of Alabama. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
7. "Canvass of Results; General Election; November 3, 2020" (PDF). Secretary of State of Alabama. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
8. "Canvass of Results; General Election; November 8, 2022" (PDF). Secretary of State of Alabama. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
9. "Canvass of Results; General Election; November 5, 2024" (PDF). Secretary of State of Alabama. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
10. "Search: Circuit 1". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017
11. "Republican Cleve Poole Sworn in as Circuit Judge for 2nd Judicial Circuit". Alabama Republican Party. June 21, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
12. "Search: Circuit 3". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
13. "Search: Circuit 4". Alabama State Bar. Accessed 4 Apr. 2017.
14. "Jackson County - Thirty-Eighth Circuit Court of Alabama". jackson.alacourt.gov. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
15. Reports, Staff (March 9, 2024). "Jackson County Circuit Judge John Graham kicks off re-election campaign at Payne's". Jackson County Sentinel. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
16. Report, Staff (March 3, 2020). "Benson wins without a runoff; three incumbents defeated". Jackson County Sentinel. Retrieved August 27, 2025.