• Circuit Clerk (Circuit and District Court), Bullock County Courthouse, 217 N. Prairie St., Union Springs, (334) 738-2280
• District Attorney, 3rd Judicial Circuit, P.O. Box 61, Eufaula, (334) 687-7638
• Bullock County Sheriff's Office, 217 N. Prairie St., Union Springs, (334) 738-2670
• Bullock County Jail, Union Springs (call the Sheriff's Office), (334) 738-2670
• Indigent defense: private lawyers appointed or under contract, paid by the Office of Indigent Defense Services, (334) 242-7059
• Union Springs Police Department, 305 N. Prairie St., Union Springs, (334) 738-3131
• City of Union Springs (municipal court questions), 212 N. Prairie St., (334) 738-2720
• Juvenile court intake: through the Circuit Clerk at the courthouse, (334) 738-2280

Which court hears your case. Inside Union Springs, police usually cite city ordinance violations and misdemeanors into the municipal court. Arrests made by sheriff's deputies or state troopers on U.S. 29 and U.S. 82, and anywhere outside the city, are filed in Bullock District Court. All felonies begin in District Court and are transferred to Circuit Court after the grand jury returns an indictment. City court and District Court have no juries, so a person convicted there gets 14 days to appeal for a fresh Circuit Court trial.

Custody before trial. The Sheriff operates the small county jail at the courthouse complex in Union Springs, and city arrests are generally booked there as well. Call (334) 738-2670 to learn if someone is held and what release requires. Bullock Correctional Facility, north of town on Highway 82, is a state prison for sentenced men; it never houses people waiting on local charges.

State courts

• Circuit Court (felonies, jury trials, appeals de novo), 217 N. Prairie St., Union Springs, (334) 738-2280
• District Court and juvenile court, same courthouse and clerk, (334) 738-2280

Municipal courts and towns

• Union Springs Municipal Court: handled through City Hall, 212 N. Prairie St., (334) 738-2720
• Midway and rural areas: charges typically go to District Court in Union Springs

Bullock County has no standing public defender office. For defendants without money, judges name private or contract lawyers, paid by the Office of Indigent Defense Services. The Sheriff's Office handles bonds for anyone at the Bullock County Jail.

Most people jailed on a misdemeanor in Union Springs can leave the Bullock County Jail that day once they pay the scheduled bail, using a licensed bail company or a property bond, or signing a recognizance bond. A domestic violence suspect is held until a judge sets conditions or 24 hours pass. Anyone still jailed sees a judge within 48 hours after an arrest with no warrant, or 72 hours after a warrant arrest.

In Union Springs city court or Bullock District Court

• A first appearance to plead and request a court-appointed lawyer.
• Plea talks that may produce a reduced charge, deferred prosecution or costs-only disposition.
• A bench trial if needed, followed by a 14-day window to appeal for a jury in Circuit Court.

Maximum Bullock County misdemeanor penalties

• Class A, such as fourth-degree theft of services: a year in jail and $6,000.
• Class C, such as disorderly conduct or harassing communications: three months and $500; a violation carries up to 30 days and $200.
• First-time DUI: up to a year, a $600 to $2,100 fine and a license suspension.

If jail time could result, a defendant short on money can ask for a court-paid lawyer.

Felony suspects stay at the Bullock County Jail until bond is posted under the statewide schedule or reduced by a judge. The first hearing covers the charge, and the district judge rules on whether a free lawyer is available.

Felony process in the 3rd Circuit

1. Preliminary hearing in Bullock District Court on a defense demand made within 30 days of arrest.
2. Bullock County grand jury; because terms are limited, an indictment may take several months.
3. Circuit Court arraignment in Union Springs, discovery and motions, then a plea or trial before twelve local jurors.

Penalty classes

• Class B in Bullock, such as unlawful distribution of a controlled substance: two to twenty years, with extra mandatory time near a school or housing project.
• Class C (third-degree burglary, second-degree possession of a forged instrument, theft of a firearm): between one year and a day and ten years.
• Class D (simple drug possession): between one year and a day and five years.

Many nonviolent Class C and D cases end in probation or community corrections under Alabama's presumptive standards; prior convictions can trigger the Habitual Felony Offender Act. Defendants under 21 on the offense date may apply for youthful offender treatment, which keeps the case confidential and limits the sentence to three years.

A defendant charged with a violent crime may be held at the Bullock County Jail with no bail if a judge grants the DA's motion under Aniah's Law, which reaches murder, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery and other listed offenses. Amendment 1, the May 19, 2026 constitutional change, added attempted or conspired murder and shooting into occupied buildings or vehicles.

What these charges carry

• Murder, first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary (Class A): ten to ninety-nine years or life, with a twenty-year minimum for firearms.
• Second-degree assault, including injuring a corrections officer at the nearby state prison: Class C, between one year and a day and ten years.
• Capital murder: death or life without parole.

Violent cases in Bullock often take two years or more to resolve. Defendants without money receive appointed counsel.

Youth arrested in Bullock County are referred to juvenile probation intake through the courthouse in Union Springs; the clerk, (334) 738-2280, can direct families. Children who must be detained leave Bullock for a contract regional center, for example the Montgomery County Youth Facility. No bail applies in juvenile court; a Bullock juvenile judge must review any detention within 72 hours.

Results in Bullock juvenile court

• An informal adjustment that ends once the child completes its conditions.
• Supervised probation under the juvenile court.
• Placement with the Department of Youth Services for serious or repeated conduct.

Adult charges for teens

Youths 16 and 17 accused of capital crimes, Class A felonies, drug trafficking, or felonies involving a deadly weapon, serious injury or death are tried as adults and may be held at the Bullock County Jail. From age 14, a hearing can move a child's case to adult court. A child whose family has no money for counsel gets a lawyer at state cost.

Bullock County is in the Northern Division of the Middle District of Alabama, so its federal criminal cases are heard at One Church Street in Montgomery, (334) 954-3600. Federal charges typically come from drug distribution investigations, firearms possession by felons, contraband schemes connected to Bullock Correctional Facility, and fraud on federal farm or benefit programs.

• Middle District U.S. Attorney, 131 Clayton Street, Montgomery, (334) 223-7280
• Middle District Federal Defenders, South Court Street, Montgomery, (334) 834-2099, plus CJA panel lawyers for conflicts

The federal path

An arrested person sees a magistrate judge, and a detention hearing under the Bail Reform Act decides between release on conditions and custody, typically without money bail. Indictment must follow within 30 days, and the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day limit is often paused for allowed delays. Federal punishment follows the Guidelines with no parole; about 85 percent of a term is served in BOP before supervised release. Bullock County appeals go to the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta. Federal detainees housed in a county jail may show up on its roster; sentenced Bullock defendants can be found with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

State court and the sheriff share the courthouse on North Prairie Street in Union Springs:

• Circuit and District Court clerk: 217 North Prairie Street, Union Springs, AL 36089, 334-738-2280
• Probate Court: Union Springs (mail: P.O. Box 71), 334-738-2250
• Union Springs Municipal Court: City Hall, 212 North Prairie Street, 334-738-2720
• Sheriff's Office and jail: 217 North Prairie Street, Suite 112, Union Springs, 334-738-2670

For bond steps see our Bullock bail guide; the ranges are in the Alabama Rule 7.2 bail schedule (https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr7_2.pdf).

Bullock belongs to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama:

• Court: the federal courthouse in Montgomery, One Church Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-954-3600
• U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 1 Church Street, Suite A-100, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-922-6960

A magistrate in Montgomery handles detention, and the Marshals decide on housing.

• Jail roster: Bullock County Inmate Search
• ADOC: Alabama Department of Corrections Inmate Search (https://www.doc.alabama.gov/inmate/inmate-search/)
• BOP: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/); pretrial federal holds, 334-922-6960
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Choose Alabama, type a name, and learn whether and where the person is in custody, plus free alerts.

Our Bullock inmate page has more.

An ICE detainer seeks up to 48 hours of extra custody in Union Springs.

• Field office: ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360
• Alabama short-stay jails: Baldwin County Correctional Center in Bay Minette, Etowah County Jail in Gadsden and Pickens County Detention Center in Carrollton
• Locator: ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/)

To check for a warrant, phone the sheriff at 334-738-2670, and the building is at 217 North Prairie Street, Union Springs, AL 36089. You can read dockets on bullock.alacourt.gov, while Alacourt Access asks $9.99 per name. The clerk's courthouse office is 217 North Prairie Street, Union Springs, AL 36089, at 334-738-2280 for court dates.