Blount County Detention Center Criminal Court Process
Criminal Court Process for Blount County Alabama
Blount County has a judicial circuit all its own, the 41st Judicial Circuit. Anyone held at the Blount County Detention Center on a criminal charge has the case heard at the county courthouse in Oneonta.
Blount County Courthouse
220 2nd Avenue East, Oneonta, AL 35121
Circuit Clerk Cindy Massey: 205-973-0499 (in use since December 2024)
Weekdays, 8:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Renovation update: according to the clerk's office, courthouse work was to wrap up by September 3, 2026, with the office reopening there on September 8, 2026. Every docket of Judge Burns except juvenile cases was scheduled to return to the main courthouse.
- Circuit Court is the felony court; it also holds jury trials and decides appeals.
- District Court: where a felony case begins (first appearance, then a preliminary hearing) and where misdemeanor and traffic charges are tried.
- Oneonta Municipal Court deals with city ordinance cases; magistrate 205-274-2126.
Case lookups: Alacourt, the public access portal and the Blount County docket list all carry case information. Warrant, jury and juvenile court pages are on the Blount County Circuit Clerk website. People without a lawyer can sign up for AlaFile e-notices, then show the clerk a printout of the form along with photo identification.
Typical felony path: arrest and booking, first appearance with bond, preliminary hearing, grand jury, arraignment, plea or trial, and sentencing. If money for a lawyer is a problem, the judge can be asked to appoint one.
