Alabama Title 15 is the state’s code of criminal procedure, and it governs every stage of a criminal case from the moment prosecutors consider filing charges through arrest, bail, indictment, trial, sentencing, appeal, and the eventual possibility of clearing a record. If you are facing a case in Alabama, or trying to understand one that affects someone close to you, the rules that matter most to you almost all live inside Title 15.
What follows is a plain walk through those rules in the order they typically come up.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File Charges
Alabama gives prosecutors five years to bring most felony charges and twelve months to bring misdemeanor charges.1Justia. Alabama Code Title 15, Chapter 3 – Limitations on Prosecution Miss those windows and the case cannot proceed, no matter how strong the evidence.
A long list of serious offenses carries no deadline at all. Capital offenses, felonies involving violence or the threat of violence against a person, sex offenses against anyone under sixteen, felony arson, felony forgery, felony counterfeiting, and felony drug trafficking can be prosecuted at any time. Conversion of public revenues has its own six-year clock.
Arrests With and Without a Warrant
Most arrests begin with a warrant signed by a judge or magistrate that names the person to be arrested and the offense charged. Officers must have enough detail in the warrant for the accused to understand what they are facing.
Section 15-10-3 also lets officers arrest without a warrant in specific situations:
- A public offense or breach of the peace happens or is threatened in the officer’s presence.
- The officer has reasonable cause to believe the person committed a felony, even if the officer didn’t see it.
- The officer knows a valid arrest warrant has already been issued for the person.
- The officer has reasonable cause to believe the person committed an offense violating a court protection order.
- The offense involves domestic violence and the arrest rests on probable cause, whether the charge is a felony or misdemeanor.
If an officer makes the arrest on an outstanding warrant but doesn’t have the physical warrant on hand, the officer has to tell you the offense you’re charged with and that a warrant exists.2Justia. Alabama Code 15-10-3 – Arrest Without Warrant After any arrest, you must be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay.
Bail and Pretrial Release
Bail before conviction is a right in almost every Alabama case. Section 15-13-2 guarantees it except in the situations listed in Section 15-13-3.3Justia. Alabama Code 15-13-2 – Allowance as Matter of Right Prior to Conviction A person charged with capital murder is not eligible for bail if the court believes the evidence shows guilt. For twelve other offenses—murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy, sexual torture, first-degree domestic violence, first-degree human trafficking, first-degree burglary, first-degree arson, first-degree robbery, terrorism, and aggravated child abuse—a judge may deny bail after a hearing if the prosecution shows by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions can protect the community or ensure the defendant comes back to court.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-13-3 – Persons Charged with Capital Murder; Pretrial Detention Hearing; Denial of Bail in Particular Cases
Alabama recognizes only four forms of bail. No court or clerk may accept anything else:
- Cash bail. The full bail amount is deposited in cash with the court clerk.
- Judicial public bail. The court releases the defendant without any financial deposit or security. Other states call this release on personal recognizance; Alabama uses this term, and only a judicial officer with jurisdiction over the defendant can grant it.
- Professional surety bail. A bail company posts the bond, and the defendant pays a nonrefundable premium that is usually a percentage of the full amount.
- Property bail. One or more owners of Alabama real property pledge it as security.
If the initial amount looks excessive, you can petition the court to modify or reduce it.5Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-13-111 – Kinds of Bail
How Felony Charges Get Formally Filed
In Alabama, a felony becomes a formal case through either a grand jury indictment or a criminal information filed by the prosecutor. The grand jury is made up of eighteen citizens who hear evidence in secret.6Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission. Criminal Justice Process If a majority finds enough evidence, they return a “true bill” and the case goes forward.7Justia. Alabama Code Title 15, Chapter 8 – Indictments If not, they return a “no bill” and the charges aren’t pursued through that route.
A criminal information is used for misdemeanors and for felonies where the defendant waives the grand jury. If you’re arrested on a felony, you also have the right to a preliminary hearing before a district court judge, generally held within seventy-two hours of your first court appearance, to decide whether there is probable cause to hold you for trial.6Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission. Criminal Justice Process
Your Rights During the Case
Title 15 carries the constitutional and statutory protections that attach to anyone facing criminal charges in Alabama: a speedy and public trial, the right to confront and cross-examine the state’s witnesses, and the right to compel witnesses of your own. Alabama does not set fixed statutory deadlines for a speedy trial; courts weigh the length of the delay, the reason for it, whether you asserted the right, and any prejudice to you.
Court-Appointed Counsel
Under Section 15-12-21, a judge who finds that you qualify for counsel, have not waived the right, and cannot afford a lawyer must appoint one for you at no cost.8Justia. Alabama Code 15-12-21 – Appointment and Compensation of Counsel The same applies to juveniles in delinquency cases, and in some situations to their parents or guardians. Appointed counsel owes you the same duty a hired lawyer would.
At Trial
The prosecution puts on its case first because it carries the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense then presents evidence, calls witnesses, and cross-examines the state’s witnesses. After closing arguments the judge instructs the jury on the law, and deliberations begin. Title 15 also sets procedures for whether co-defendants are tried together or separately.
Sentencing and Split Sentences
A sentencing hearing follows a conviction. For many felonies the judge has flexibility under the split-sentence law in Section 15-18-8. If the imposed sentence is fifteen years or less, the judge may order up to three years of actual confinement, suspend the rest, and place you on probation. For sentences between fifteen and twenty years, confinement runs three to five years, with the remainder suspended and probation imposed.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-18-8 Probation is not available for Class A or B felony sex offenses involving a child.
Probation can carry fines, restitution to the victim for actual damages, and support obligations the defendant is legally responsible for. The court keeps the power to revoke or modify probation and may suspend any remaining confinement even after you’ve started serving it.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-18-8
Appeals and Rule 32 Petitions
After a conviction you can appeal to a higher court, which reviews the trial record for legal errors serious enough to have affected the outcome. A direct appeal is limited to issues that your attorney preserved by raising them during the trial.
Issues that could not have been raised at trial or on direct appeal, such as ineffective assistance of counsel or newly discovered evidence, go through a separate post-conviction process under Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure. The federal standard from Strickland v. Washington governs ineffective-assistance claims, and it requires showing both that the lawyer’s work was objectively deficient and that there is a reasonable probability the result would have been different with competent counsel.10Justia. Strickland v. Washington Most claims fail on that second piece.
In non-capital cases, a Rule 32 petition generally must be filed within one year of the certificate of judgment. In death penalty cases, the petition is due within 365 days of the defendant’s first brief on direct appeal, and the post-conviction process runs alongside the appeal rather than after it.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 13A-5-53.1 – Appeals of Capital Punishment
Victims’ Rights
Chapter 23 gives crime victims a defined role in the case. Prosecutors must notify you about charges filed and upcoming proceedings. You can confer with the prosecutor before trial and before any final disposition, attend court proceedings, submit a victim impact statement before sentencing, and present evidence or a statement at sentencing or restitution hearings.12Justia. Alabama Code Title 15, Chapter 23, Article 3 You can also be informed about the sentence and ask to be notified of post-conviction proceedings, and the prosecutor must confer with you about the terms of any plea agreement. One hard limit: if the court or prosecutor fails to provide any of these rights, that failure is not grounds for setting aside the defendant’s sentence.
Clearing a Record Through Expungement
Chapter 27 of Title 15 lets some records be expunged, but the rules depend sharply on whether there was a conviction.
Charges That Did Not End in Conviction
You may petition to expunge a felony charge that did not result in a conviction in several situations: the charge was dismissed with prejudice, no-billed by a grand jury, or ended in a not-guilty verdict, with at least ninety days having passed. The same ninety-day wait applies if the prosecution dropped the charge without conditions and hasn’t refiled it. If the dismissal came after completing drug court, mental health court, veterans’ court, or another approved diversion program, the wait is one year from successful completion.13Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 15-27-2 – Petition to Expunge Records
A dismissal without prejudice is harder to clear. Five years must have passed since the dismissal, the charge must not have been refiled, and you must have no other convictions or more than minor traffic violations during that five-year period.
Felony Convictions
Expunging an actual felony conviction is much harder. You first have to obtain a certificate of pardon with restoration of civil and political rights from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, then wait at least 180 days after the pardon issues. Even with a pardon, violent offenses, sex offenses, offenses involving moral turpitude, and serious traffic offenses can never be expunged. A narrow exception exists for human trafficking victims who can show the conviction resulted directly from being trafficked.
Once a record is expunged, it is effectively removed from public view and should not appear on standard background checks. Filing fees and procedural steps vary by county, so the practical first move is a call to the circuit clerk’s office or a local attorney before you file.