• Circuit Clerk, Elba office, Coffee County Courthouse, 230 Court Ave., Elba, (334) 897-2954
• Circuit Clerk, Enterprise office, Coffee County Courthouse, Edwards Street, Enterprise, (334) 347-2519
• Coffee County Sheriff's Office, 1133 East McKinnon Street, New Brockton, (334) 894-5535
• Coffee County Jail, 1133 East McKinnon Street, New Brockton, (334) 894-5535
• Lawyers for people who cannot pay: request one from the judge at the first appearance
• Juvenile court and intake, through either Circuit Clerk office (Enterprise (334) 347-2519)

Which court hears your case. Charges from Enterprise police, the busiest local department, usually go to Enterprise Municipal Court at City Hall. Elba and Kinston officers use their own town courts. Misdemeanors written by deputies or troopers land in District Court, in Elba or Enterprise based on location and clerk assignment. Every felony begins in District Court and moves to Circuit Court after a grand jury indicts. Children's cases go to juvenile court. City and District Court convictions may be appealed to Circuit Court, which retries the case, with a jury on request.

Jail before trial. The Sheriff's jail at the county complex in New Brockton, between Elba and Enterprise, is the main adult lockup and takes arrestees from every agency in the county. Enterprise police may hold someone briefly at their headquarters for booking or a city warrant, but people not released are typically moved to the county jail. Call the Sheriff's Office to confirm custody and the bond amount.

State courts

• Circuit and District Court, Elba division, 230 Court Ave., Elba, (334) 897-2954
• Circuit and District Court, Enterprise division, Edwards Street, Enterprise, (334) 347-2519

Municipal courts

• Enterprise Municipal Court, Enterprise City Hall, 501 S. Main St.; payments at the magistrate's office there, city line (334) 347-1211
• Elba Municipal Court, 312 Simmons St., Elba, (334) 897-1254
• Kinston Municipal Court: the circuit clerk has its contact details
• New Brockton and Jack: the circuit clerk knows where those charges are filed

The 12th Circuit uses court-appointed and contract attorneys for indigent clients; the judge decides eligibility. A bond for someone at the Coffee County Jail is posted at New Brockton.

Domestic violence cases are the exception, with no release for up to 24 hours unless a judge or magistrate acts sooner. A person unable to post bond goes before a judge within 48 hours of an arrest without a warrant, or 72 hours with one.

Steps in a Coffee County misdemeanor

• A first court date in District Court (Elba or Enterprise) or a city court, where an indigent defendant facing jail can request appointed counsel.
• Worthless check cases, conservation tickets and similar charges are handled through the district criminal clerk; restitution often resolves them.
• Plea, diversion or a bench trial, then 14 days to appeal a conviction to Circuit Court.

Coffee County misdemeanor ranges

• Third-degree assault, first-offense DUI and personal-use marijuana are Class A misdemeanors: a year or less in jail and up to $6,000 (DUI fines $600 to $2,100).
• Class B carries six months and $3,000 at most; Class C carries three months and $500.

Felony arrestees in Coffee County are held at the Coffee County Jail while awaiting bail or a final ruling. The schedule sets Class D felonies at $1,000 to $10,000, Class C at $2,500 to $15,000, and Class B at $5,000 to $30,000. Felony cases stay on the district criminal docket until the grand jury acts.

Felony steps

• First appearance, release terms and a lawyer for eligible defendants.
• A preliminary hearing in District Court, which the defense must request within 30 days of arrest.
• Grand jury review, then arraignment, motions and trial settings before a circuit judge in Elba or Enterprise.
• Those under 21 at the time of the offense may ask for youthful offender treatment: a sealed record and no more than three years of confinement.

Penalties

• Class D (third-degree theft of about $500 to $1,500): a year and a day to five years, fine up to $7,500.
• Class C (third or later domestic violence conviction): up to 10 years and $15,000.
• Class B (second-degree burglary; drug distribution): 2 to 20 years.
• Alabama's presumptive standards steer many nonviolent C and D felonies to probation or community corrections, while repeat offenders face Habitual Felony Offender Act enhancements.

Violent felony defendants often stay at the Coffee County Jail until trial. Aniah's Law allows the 12th Circuit District Attorney to request a hearing at which a judge can deny bail for murder, first-degree robbery, sodomy, arson and the other listed crimes; a May 2026 vote extended this to attempted, solicited or conspired murder and to firing into an occupied building or vehicle.

• Class A felonies such as murder and first-degree robbery, sodomy or arson carry 10 to 99 years or life; using a gun or deadly weapon brings a 20-year minimum.
• Capital murder: death or life without parole, and death requires a vote of at least 10 jurors.
• People convicted of the most serious violent Class A crimes must serve 85 percent or 15 years before parole consideration.
• Expect a year or more before trial; appointed counsel is provided to defendants who cannot afford a lawyer.

Coffee County's juvenile court is part of the District Court system and sits at the Elba and Enterprise courthouses. Juvenile probation officers handle intake, deciding whether a complaint becomes a formal petition or is resolved by informal adjustment; the Circuit Clerk's offices can direct families to them.

Detention

Coffee County runs no youth detention center. Youths ordered held go to a contracted facility elsewhere, and intake staff tell parents which one. A judge must hold a detention hearing within 72 hours of placement. Teens charged as adults can be housed at the Coffee County Jail away from adult inmates, and adult bail rules apply to them.

Outcomes

• Probation, counseling, repayment to victims or a Department of Youth Services commitment.
• Adult jurisdiction is automatic for 16- and 17-year-olds accused of capital offenses, Class A felonies, drug trafficking, or felonies with a deadly weapon, a death or serious physical injury.
• A transfer hearing can move other cases to adult court when the youth was 14 or older.

Federal prosecutions from Coffee County go to the Middle District of Alabama's Southern Division in Dothan, at the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 100 W. Troy St.. Crimes on a military post can also be tried in federal court.

In federal court, a magistrate judge hears the first appearance, and release turns on a Bail Reform Act detention hearing; secured money bail is seldom used. Indictment is required within 30 days, and the Speedy Trial Act's 70-day clock runs from indictment or first appearance, with exclusions. Guideline sentences are served without parole at roughly 85 percent, then supervised release. Appeals are heard in Atlanta by the Eleventh Circuit. Someone held for the U.S. Marshals in a contract jail can also show on that jail's roster, and those already sentenced appear in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

State cases are heard in two county court offices:

• Circuit clerk, Enterprise: 101 South Edwards Street, Enterprise, AL 36330, 334-347-2519
• Circuit clerk, Elba: 230 M Court Avenue, Elba, 334-897-2954
• Enterprise Municipal Court: City Hall, 501 South Main Street, Enterprise, 334-347-1211
• Elba Municipal Court: 312 Simmons Street, Elba, 334-897-1254
• Coffee County Jail: 1133 East McKinnon Street, New Brockton, AL 36351, 334-894-5535; sheriff's office 334-894-5535

Our Coffee bail guide walks through bonds; the Alabama Rule 7.2 bail schedule (https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr7_2.pdf) gives the ranges.

Coffee is part of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama:

• Courthouse: the federal courthouse in Dothan, 100 West Troy Street, Dothan, AL 36303 (open for trials; clerk work is in Montgomery), 334-954-3600
• U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 1 Church Street, Suite A-100, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-922-6960

Detention is up to the magistrate; housing is up to the Marshals.

• New Brockton jail list: Coffee County Inmate Search
• State prisons: Alabama Department of Corrections Inmate Search (https://www.doc.alabama.gov/inmate/inmate-search/)
• Federal prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/); before sentencing, 334-922-6960
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Pick Alabama, enter a name, and register for custody notices.

See our Coffee inmate page for more help.

With a detainer, ICE can ask the New Brockton jail to keep someone no more than two extra business days.

• 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/)

The New Brockton sheriff answers warrant questions at 334-894-5535, and deputies work out of 4 County Complex, New Brockton, AL 36351. Case lists are kept at coffee.alacourt.gov, plus Alacourt Access at $9.99 a name. Rescheduling means seeing the clerk at 101 South Edwards Street, Enterprise, AL 36330, or call 334-347-2519 about a missed date.