Geneva County Jail

Almost every grown-up arrested anywhere in this county is booked on Commerce Street at the Geneva County Jail, 180 North Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340, 334-684-5670. It makes no difference whether a deputy, an Alabama trooper or an officer from Geneva, Samson, Hartford or Slocomb put on the handcuffs. Ground was broken for this newer jail in 2018, replacing the old building.

Deputies working out of the courthouse at 200 North Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340, 334-684-5660, run the jail. Phone the jail itself about a booking, a bond figure or a hold. Phone the Sheriff's Office when nobody knows which agency arrested the person. Either desk can search faster with a spelled-out name and a birthday.

Briefly, yes. Officers from any of the four town departments may hold an arrested adult at the town station for an hour or two before the ride to the county jail. When the charge breaks a town ordinance, the town's own court handles it and decides that bond. Phone the department that made the arrest and ask two things: where is the person now, and which court sets bond on this charge?

• Geneva police: 517 South Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340, non-emergency line 334-684-2777
• Slocomb police: 334-886-3333
• Hartford city office: 203 West Main Street, Hartford, AL 36344, 334-588-2245
• Samson town court: 334-898-7541

Deputies patrol Black, Coffee Springs and Malvern, so for an arrest there, phone the jail first.

Bond is set by a judge or a magistrate. Often the figure is printed on the warrant itself, so it is waiting when the person arrives at booking. Jailers have no power to change it. What they can do is read you the amount from the paperwork.

Alabama Rule 4.3 puts deadlines on the first look by a judge. For an arrest without any warrant, probable cause must get a judge's review inside 48 hours. After a warrant arrest, a person still unable to make bond should appear before a judge inside 72 hours. On a domestic violence charge, setting the bond can be held off for as long as 24 hours. Treat these as upper limits, never as release dates. The jail at 334-684-5670 can tell you the bond on file today.

Rule 7.2 lists a recommended range for each class of charge. A judge chooses a number in that range, or goes above or below it, after studying the charge, any prior convictions and local ties like work or family. The chart reads like this:

• Class C misdemeanor: $300 to $1,000
• Class B misdemeanor: $300 to $3,000
• Class A misdemeanor: $300 to $6,000
• DUI: $1,000 to $7,500
• Class D felony: $1,000 to $10,000
• Class C felony: $2,500 to $15,000
• Class B felony: $5,000 to $30,000
• Class A felony: $10,000 to $60,000

Read the whole Rule 7.2 schedule for drug and other special charges. For how bail works across the whole state, open our Alabama bail law page. Only the written order shows the true figure.

Alabama courts use four main release types. Check the release order to learn which of them this judge has okayed.

• Own recognizance: the defendant signs, pays nothing, and promises to return.
• Cash: full bond paid upfront to the court clerk.
• Surety: a bonding company with a state license stands behind the bond, charging a fee.
• Property: a deed to land stands in for money.

Conditions often ride along with a bond, like keeping away from a certain person or house. Violating a condition can send the defendant straight back to jail, paid bond or not. Before borrowing or signing anything with an agent, ask the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 what types the order permits.

For state cases, pay a cash bond at the Circuit Clerk's office in the county courthouse, 200 North Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340, 334-684-5620. Hours run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Phone before you drive over to learn which window takes bonds and the latest time it will accept one.

1. Get the exact total for each case from the jail.
2. Bring a government photo ID plus the exact sum.
3. Pay at the clerk's window and hold on to the receipt.
4. Walk the clerk's papers next door to the jail at 180 North Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340.
5. Wait at the jail while staff clear the release and search for other holds.

Bond on a town charge is paid through that town's court.

For a cash bond the clerk accepts paper money, money orders and cashier's checks. Expect a personal check to be refused. A few courts run a card option that carries an extra fee, so ask whether yours does. Write any check or money order to the exact payee name the clerk tells you.

Alabama tacks a 3.5 percent fee and $35 onto the bond itself. Ask the clerk at 334-684-5620 for the grand total so you arrive with enough. Do not put cash in the mail. Money loaded onto a jail spending account will not pay a bond, so treat those as two separate payments with two separate receipts.

An adult holding a valid photo ID may post bond for another person. Being related is not required. When the arrested person is under 18, a parent or legal guardian has to handle the bond. Defense lawyers may not put up bail money for the people they represent.

With a property bond, each owner listed on the deed must show up and sign. Refunds on a cash bond go to whoever posted it, so check that your name is spelled right on the receipt. Have the arrested person's legal name, birth date and case number in hand. For questions about who may sign, the clerk's office answers at 334-684-5620.

When the order permits it, a licensed bonding company may write a surety bond on your behalf. Expect a charge of roughly 10 percent. That money is the company's to keep, even if prosecutors later drop the case. Some agents ask for more, or want collateral such as a car title. Get every term on paper.

Bondsmen in Alabama answer to the Alabama Professional Bail Bonding Board, whose site lists licenses. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 334-684-5660 whether it takes bonds from that company. Read every line before co-signing, since anyone co-signing may owe the court every dollar of it if the defendant fails to appear.

Possibly. Whether property is allowed is up to the judge who set the bond. Phone the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 and bring this list of questions:

• Does the land need to be inside Alabama, or inside this county?
• How much equity must it carry beyond the bond amount?
• Will a mobile home qualify?
• Which deed papers and fees apply?

All deed owners sign in person. Land bonds take extra days because the clerk checks title and value first. A missed court date can cost the family that land, so weigh it carefully before putting up a house you live in.

Bail can be refused in a capital case. Aniah's Law also lets prosecutors ask a judge, at a special hearing, to keep someone jailed with no bail on certain violent charges. Since May 19, 2026, when Alabama voters approved Amendment 1, that list also covers murder attempts and shots fired into a home, building or car where people are. Both sides speak before the judge rules.

Another hold can keep the cell door shut even with bond paid. Common ones are a probation violation, a federal order, an ICE detainer or a warrant sent from elsewhere in Alabama, and each must be cleared on its own. Have the jail at 334-684-5670 read off every hold. Then get the signed order from the clerk for the lawyer to review.

Yes, through the defense lawyer. The lawyer writes a motion requesting a lower figure or a lighter condition. Under Alabama Rule 7.4, a judge can rewrite release terms when there is good cause, after prosecutors get a say. Bring solid facts: a job, nearby family, a local address, any health problems, and a ride plan for every court date.

Judges tend to say no when nothing new has happened since the bond was set. Anyone jailed longer than 90 days while awaiting trial is entitled to have the court look at the release terms again. The Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 can give you the case number and tell you which judge has it.

Treat it as urgent. The judge may issue a new arrest order and begin taking the bond money. Under Alabama Rule 7.6, the court sends notice and allows a chance to explain before the bond is forfeited, so hand any court letter to the lawyer at once.

• Phone the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 that same day.
• Let the bonding company know, if one wrote the bond.
• Have the defense lawyer ask to put the hearing back on the calendar.

Coming in quickly beside a lawyer nearly always turns out better than an officer showing up at a home or job.

Once the case is over, and only if every court date was kept. Before refunding anything, the court subtracts fines, court costs and restitution. Whatever remains goes back to the person who posted the bond. Store the receipt and case number somewhere safe, and update the clerk whenever your mailing address changes.

A bondsman's fee works differently: it is gone for good. The Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 can explain how refund checks go out and the usual wait. When court dates were missed, some or all of the cash may be kept, so raise the refund with the lawyer before the case closes.

It is, for people who cannot pay. At the first hearing, ask the judge to appoint a lawyer, or ask the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 how that request works. The defendant fills out a sworn form listing income, bills and dependents. In this county the judge appoints a private attorney or one under a 33rd Circuit defense contract, with the state paying.

Rule 6.3 says a family helping with bond does not automatically disqualify someone. The Office of Indigent Defense Services, which runs appointed counsel for the state, is at 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059. Get a lawyer in place before any guilty plea or before giving up a hearing.

Most kids under 18 skip the adult booking desk and adult bond entirely. Their cases go to juvenile court inside the county courthouse. Juvenile probation officers handle intake, and you reach them through the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620. Ask probation two things: which placement took the child, and the day of the first juvenile hearing.

Children who must be held securely are placed outside the county, such as at the Montgomery County Youth Facility, 1111 Air Base Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36108, 334-261-4100. Alabama requires a detention hearing within 72 hours. For a handful of grave charges, Alabama skips juvenile court for teens aged 16 and 17.

No. Federal holds need federal answers. Cases from this county fall under the Middle District of Alabama, which tries cases at the federal courthouse at 100 West Troy Street, Dothan, AL 36303. The clerk's staff answer from 1 Church Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-954-3600.

At a hearing in federal court, a magistrate applies 18 U.S.C. § 3142 to decide on release. Federal court uses no price chart, and paying cash for release is unusual. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals Service keeps custody, often renting space in a nearby jail. Their office: 1 Church Street, Suite A-100, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-922-6960. Once a prison term begins, check the Bureau of Prisons search.

It will not. Immigration officers file Form I-247A when they want a jail to keep someone up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so ICE agents can drive over and pick the person up. A paid state bond leaves that request standing. Have a lawyer look over the actual paperwork.

ICE runs Alabama cases from its New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. After ICE takes over custody, use its online detainee search; it asks for an A-number plus a birth country. Any immigration bond gets paid to ICE itself; the county clerk cannot take it.

Fake callers target families right after an arrest and push for fast money. Licensed bondsmen do not take gift cards or phone-app transfers, and courts never collect bail that way. If a caller rushes you or says to keep quiet about the call, hang up.

Before paying a cent, dial the jail on your own at 334-684-5670 and confirm there is a bond and what it is. Next, look up the agent's license with the state bonding board. Pay only at the clerk's window, or to a licensed company that hands you a written receipt. Log each call with the time and the caller's name.

Use these official sources for cases and hearing dates:

• Alacourt Access: the paid statewide case search. Choose the county; each name search costs $9.99.
• County court website: the clerk's phone number and hours.
• Sheriff's Office, 334-684-5660: questions about whether a warrant is open.

Finding a case online does not cancel a warrant. When one is out, plan a surrender with a lawyer and have bond money lined up first. That route spares the person an unplanned arrest in front of family or coworkers.

It depends on the charge and who wrote it. Geneva County belongs to the 33rd Judicial Circuit, which it shares with Dale County. Three kinds of courts handle criminal matters here:

• District Court: state misdemeanors, traffic cases, and early felony hearings.
• Circuit Court: felony trials, and a second, fresh trial when someone appeals a conviction from below.
• Municipal courts: town ordinance charges brought by police in Geneva, Samson, Hartford or Slocomb.

Deputies and state troopers file their misdemeanors in District Court on Commerce Street. Felony cases open in District Court. When grand jurors return an indictment, the file passes up to Circuit Court for trial. Children's cases go to juvenile court. Ask the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 which court has your case.

You'll find Circuit Court and District Court under one roof, the county courthouse at 200 North Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340. One office, the Circuit Clerk, holds paperwork for both, phone 334-684-5620. Counter hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Letters to the clerk go to PO Box 86, Geneva, AL 36340.

The clerk can tell you the case number, the next setting, which judge is assigned, and how to pay fines or bond. Staff cannot give legal advice or say what a judge will do. The county court website shows the clerk's contacts and hours. Bring your hearing notice and a photo ID when you visit.

A ticket or arrest by town police for breaking a town ordinance stays in that town's municipal court. Use the court named on the ticket:

• Geneva Municipal Court: 517 South Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340, 334-684-9216
• Samson Municipal Court: 334-898-7541
• Hartford Municipal Court: 203 West Main Street, Hartford, AL 36344, 334-588-2245
• Slocomb Municipal Court: 334-886-3777

For a charge from Black, Coffee Springs or Malvern, ask the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 where it was filed. Town courts and District Court hold trials without a jury. Following a conviction in either one, the defendant may appeal upward to Circuit Court, where the whole case is tried again and a jury can be requested.

In that early hearing, the judge names the charge, reminds the defendant they may stay silent, handles release terms and asks about a lawyer. Nobody is found guilty at this hearing. It is mainly about rights, a lawyer and release.

Alabama Rule 4.3 sets the timing. Still locked up after an arrest made without any warrant? Then a judge should check probable cause inside 48 hours. If a warrant led to the arrest and bond can't be met, the judge must see that person within 72 hours. A domestic violence arrest can keep someone in custody for up to 24 hours before release terms are set. Ask the jail at 334-684-5670 if the hearing has happened.

Most misdemeanors in this county follow the same path through District Court or a town court:

1. Arraignment: the judge reads the charge out and the defendant answers guilty or not guilty.
2. A court-appointed lawyer for anyone eligible who faces possible jail time.
3. A plea deal, first-offender diversion, or a trial before the judge alone.
4. After a guilty verdict, 14 days to file an appeal that sends the case up for a jury trial.

Skipping a misdemeanor setting invites a warrant, plus a separate failure-to-appear charge. The Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 or the town court printed on the ticket can confirm the date and room. Keep every notice in one folder.

Alabama sorts misdemeanors into three classes. The limits below are the most a judge can give; many cases end with less, such as probation, classes or a fine.

• Class A (reckless endangerment, or DUI the first time): a year at most, fine capped at $6,000.
• Class B (third-degree criminal mischief, damage of $500 or less): six months at most, fine capped at $3,000.
• Class C: three months at most, fine capped at $500.

Restitution to a victim and court costs often get stacked onto the sentence. Some charges, like DUI, have their own extra rules on license loss and treatment. A defense lawyer can explain what a plea offer would mean before the defendant signs anything.

A felony usually starts in District Court and finishes in Circuit Court. These are the main steps:

1. First appearance: release terms get set, and a qualifying defendant receives appointed counsel.
2. A preliminary hearing in District Court, which the defendant can demand within 30 days of arrest.
3. Grand jurors from the county hear the evidence and vote on an indictment.
4. Arraignment and trial in Circuit Court at the courthouse.

Youthful offender status can be requested by anyone still 20 or under when the offense took place. When a judge grants one, the record is sealed and the sentence can't exceed three years. A preliminary hearing checks whether there is enough evidence to go forward; it is not the trial. The Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 tracks each step.

Alabama grades felonies by letter. D sits at the bottom and A at the top:

• Class D (drug possession, for one): over a year, five years at most.
• Class C (second-degree theft, or holding a forged instrument in the second degree): as long as 10 years.
• Class B (first-degree criminal mischief, damage above $2,500): between 2 and 20 years.
• Class A: from a decade to 99 years, or a life term.

Alabama's presumptive sentencing rules often send people with nonviolent Class C or D charges to probation or a community program instead of prison. Earlier felony convictions push the sentence higher. A range on paper does not predict what one person will get, so ask the defense lawyer about the real risks.

Violent charges usually mean a longer wait in jail and higher stakes. For murder, first-degree robbery and the other crimes named in Aniah's Law, the DA may request that bail be denied, and a judge decides after taking evidence. Amendment 1, approved May 19, 2026, added murder attempts and shooting into occupied buildings or vehicles to that list.

• Murder or first-degree robbery (Class A): between 10 and 99 years or life. Twenty years becomes the floor whenever a firearm or another deadly weapon played a part.
• Class B, carrying 2 to 20 years: assault in the first degree, or strangling or smothering a partner.
• Capital murder: either life without parole or death, and death requires at least 10 of the 12 jurors to agree.

These trials often take a year or longer to reach. Our Alabama bail laws page explains no-bail hearings.

Prosecution of state charges here falls to the 33rd Circuit's District Attorney, whose office covers Dale County too. Call the main office in Ozark at 334-774-9500. Remember that this office represents Alabama, never the accused or their relatives.

No money for a defense? Then the defendant requests appointed counsel from the bench and signs a sworn statement about their finances. Rule 6.3 has the judge weigh what the person earns, owes and supports. Here, the court appoints a private attorney or one on a 33rd Circuit defense contract, and the state pays. The Office of Indigent Defense Services, which oversees this work, is at 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059.

Three official routes show where a state prosecution stands:

• Ring the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620. Spell the defendant's name and have a birth date or case number handy.
• Search Alacourt Access, the paid statewide case system; one name search costs $9.99.
• Check the county court site for clerk contacts and hours.

Ask for the hearing type too, because a status date and a trial date call for very different plans. What the jail wrote down at booking may differ from what the prosecutor finally files. Sealed juvenile and youthful offender records stay out of adult search results.

The Sheriff's Office serves county warrants from 200 North Commerce Street, Geneva, AL 36340, and deputies at 334-684-5660 can say whether one is active. Town warrants may sit with the police in Geneva, Samson, Hartford or Slocomb. Looking up a name on Alacourt Access can reveal a court file tied to the person, though no search ever wipes out a warrant. Talk with a lawyer about turning in at a set time, with bond money ready. After a missed state court date, ask the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620 what the judge wants done to reset the case.

A judge sitting as the juvenile court hears cases against children at the county courthouse. Juvenile probation officers do intake and can settle some smaller complaints without a court hearing. Parents can start with a call to the Circuit Clerk at 334-684-5620, who will connect them.

When a child needs secure custody, the placement is outside the county, for example the Montgomery County Youth Facility, 1111 Air Base Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36108, 334-261-4100. A placed child gets a detention hearing, by law, within 72 hours. Outcomes range from an informal adjustment or probation to restitution or a DYS commitment. Teens aged 16 or 17 skip juvenile court for drug trafficking, capital offenses, Class A felonies, or any felony that caused a death or serious injury or involved a deadly weapon. When a child is at least 14, the DA can also file to transfer other charges to adult court.

The Middle District of Alabama, Southern Division, hears any federal prosecution starting here. Its courthouse is at 100 West Troy Street, Dothan, AL 36303, and the clerk's office in Montgomery answers at 334-954-3600. Crimes on Army posts such as nearby Fort Novosel, or on other U.S. property, can also land in federal court.

The case begins with an opening hearing before a magistrate judge, then a detention hearing decides release under the Bail Reform Act. Cash bail is rare. Under the Speedy Trial Act, the government gets 30 days to indict, and trial normally follows within 70, minus excused delays. Federal sentences have no parole, so prisoners end up serving roughly 85 percent before supervised release. Appeals travel to the Eleventh Circuit, seated in Atlanta. Pretrial custody belongs to the U.S. Marshals Service: 1 Church Street, Suite A-100, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-922-6960.

An immigration detainer does not end or replace the criminal case. Sent on Form I-247A, it asks jailers to warn ICE ahead of a release and hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Meanwhile the criminal charge proceeds separately in state court.

For Alabama, ICE works from the New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. If ICE takes custody, search its detainee locator by A-number and birth country. A defense lawyer should check how a plea in the criminal case could affect immigration status before the defendant agrees to it.

Sentenced to prison? Expect a stay on Commerce Street first, lasting until a state corrections bed opens up. ADOC then moves them to a reception center for screening, and later to an assigned prison. The sentencing date does not tell you the transfer date.

Follow the transfer through the ADOC inmate search, using the six-digit AIS number when you have it. Compare birth details when several people share a name. Our Alabama state prisons directory helps once the prison is known. Until then, the jail at 334-684-5670 can say whether the person has left.