Lauderdale County Jail Criminal Court Process

Last updated by Mark Miclette

Search for an Inmate or Active Arrest Warrant in Lauderdale County

Criminal Court Process for Lauderdale County Alabama

Almost all Lauderdale state criminal cases pass through the South Court Street courthouse in Florence, the county seat. District Court takes misdemeanors and the early stages of felonies, Circuit Court tries felonies and hears appeals, and several cities run municipal courts for ordinance and misdemeanor charges. The District Attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit prosecutes state cases. Adults arrested by deputies, Florence police or most town officers are booked into the Lauderdale County Detention Center, where a judge or magistrate sets bail conditions.

  • Lauderdale County Circuit Clerk (Circuit and District Court), Lauderdale County Courthouse, 200 South Court Street, Florence, AL 35630, (256) 760-5728
  • District Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit Florence, either (256) 764-6351 or (256) 760-5740
  • Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, 200 South Court Street, Florence, AL 35630, (256) 760-5757
  • Lauderdale County Detention Center, 563 South Seminary Street, Florence, AL 35630, (256) 760-5771
  • Appointed counsel, request it at first appearance or through the circuit clerk
  • Florence Police Department, 702 South Seminary Street, Florence, AL 35630, (256) 760-6500
  • Lauderdale County Juvenile Probation (juvenile intake), Florence, (256) 760-5850

Which court hears your case. Misdemeanors written by Florence, Killen, Rogersville or Lexington officers mostly land in that town's municipal court, while deputies and troopers file in Lauderdale County District Court. Every felony opens in District Court for the warrant, the first appearance and any preliminary hearing, then moves up to Circuit Court once the grand jury indicts. A juvenile judge handles delinquency. A conviction in municipal or District Court can be appealed within 14 days to Circuit Court for a brand-new (de novo) trial, and that is also where a jury becomes available.

Where pretrial inmates are held. Lauderdale's Seminary Street detention center keeps pretrial men and women, short-sentence inmates and some state or federal holds; call (256) 760-5771 to ask about a specific person. Florence police book into this county facility rather than a separate city lockup, and the smaller towns do the same. If you can't afford a lawyer for a jailed relative, tell the judge at the first appearance so the court can appoint one.

Local courts in Lauderdale County (Florence, Killen, Rogersville, Lexington and the smaller towns)

Lauderdale County is the 11th Judicial Circuit all by itself, so its circuit judges, district judges and prosecutors work only cases from this county. Both state trial courts sit in the courthouse at 200 South Court Street. Anyone jailed at the Lauderdale County Detention Center on a city charge still goes before that city's court, and city judges set bond on their own cases. Municipal judges appoint counsel for poor defendants facing possible jail time, just as the state courts do.

State courts

  • Lauderdale County Circuit Court, 200 South Court Street, Florence, (256) 760-5728
  • Lauderdale County District Court, same courthouse, same clerk's office, (256) 760-5728

Municipal courts

  • Florence Municipal Court, 110 West College Street, Florence, AL 35630, (256) 760-6625 (sessions Tuesday and Thursday mornings)
  • Killen Municipal Court, 319 J.C. Mauldin Highway, Killen, AL 35645, (256) 757-1246
  • Rogersville Municipal Court, 36 Wheeler Street, Rogersville, AL 35652, (256) 247-5446
  • Lexington Municipal Court, 11060 Highway 101, Lexington, AL 35648, (256) 229-5221
  • St. Florian: charges usually go to District Court; confirm with the circuit clerk at (256) 760-5728
  • Anderson: cases are usually filed in Lauderdale County District Court; the circuit clerk can confirm the docket
  • Waterloo: cases are mostly filed in Lauderdale County District Court; the ticket shows the date, and the Court Street clerk can confirm

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Misdemeanor (for example, first-offense DUI, third-degree criminal trespass, fourth-degree theft of property, harassment)

Many post a cash, property or professional bond from the statewide schedule during booking. Anyone still held at the Lauderdale County Detention Center sees a judge or magistrate within 48 hours after a warrantless arrest, or 72 hours when police acted on a warrant. A domestic violence arrest means no release until a judge reviews the case, unless 24 hours pass first.

A Lauderdale misdemeanor case opens with arraignment in city or District Court. Lauderdale judges assign attorneys through the state indigent defense system when jail is a real possibility. Florence results run from dismissal or diversion to fines plus costs, probation or a suspended sentence. A first DUI conviction here also means a $600 to $2,100 fine and license action by ALEA.

Alabama misdemeanor ranges

  • Class A: up to 1 year in jail and up to $6,000 (fourth-degree theft, third-degree assault)
  • Class B: up to 6 months and up to $3,000
  • Class C: up to 3 months and up to $500
  • Violation: up to 30 days and $200

There are no juries in municipal or District Court. A defendant who wants twelve Lauderdale County citizens to decide the case appeals to Circuit Court after the bench trial, where the charge is retried from the beginning.

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Lauderdale felonies like felony DUI, Class C burglary, Class C theft or drug possession

A felony arrest in Lauderdale County begins with booking at the Lauderdale County Detention Center and an initial appearance before a District Court judge. That judge reviews bail, can order drug screens or an ankle monitor, and checks whether the Lauderdale defendant needs a court-appointed lawyer.

Steps in a typical felony case

  1. Preliminary hearing: if the defense asks, a Lauderdale District judge decides whether probable cause exists.
  2. Grand jury. Lauderdale County grand juries meet several times a year, and a true bill moves the file upstairs to Circuit Court. Some Lauderdale defendants skip indictment and plead on an information.
  3. Arraignment in Circuit Court, followed by discovery, motions and plea talks with the 11th Circuit district attorney's staff.
  4. Plea or jury trial. Plea deals settle the bulk of Lauderdale felonies.
  5. Sentencing under Alabama's presumptive standards for many nonviolent drug and property offenses, which often point to probation or Community Corrections.

Felony classes in Alabama: Class D (1 year and 1 day to 5 years), Class C (1 year and 1 day to 10 years), Class B (2 to 20 years) and Class A (10 to 99 years or life). Prior felonies raise the range under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. A Lauderdale defendant who was under 21 at the time may seek youthful offender treatment, which seals the Lauderdale file and limits the term to 3 years. Appointed counsel stays on through sentencing.

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Lauderdale violent felonies like second-degree assault, first-degree robbery or murder

Serious violent charges keep a person at the Lauderdale County Detention Center longer. Under Aniah's Law, the 11th Circuit district attorney may ask a Florence judge to deny bail altogether for murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree rape, kidnapping and several other offenses, and the judge must hold a hearing before ruling. Since Amendment 1 (May 19, 2026), that list also covers attempted murder and shots into an occupied Florence-area house or car. When bond is allowed, amounts are often far above the schedule and come with no-contact orders.

These cases nearly always go to a grand jury. Appointed lawyers in these cases must be approved for that level of charge. First-degree robbery is a Class A felony; when a firearm or deadly weapon is used, the minimum climbs to 20 years. Capital murder carries only two sentences in Alabama: life without parole or death.

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Juveniles (under 18) arrested in Lauderdale County

Delinquency charges go to juvenile court, which meets in a closed courtroom. Juvenile probation intake, at (256) 760-5850, decides whether a petition is filed, whether the matter can be settled informally, and whether the child goes home or to detention.

A Lauderdale child the court won't send home is placed at the Tennessee Valley Juvenile Detention Center, 2216 Missouri Street, Tuscumbia, (256) 381-3520, a regional center across the river in Colbert County. A detention hearing must take place within 72 hours. At that hearing, the judge keeps the child or sends them home to a parent, sometimes with electronic monitoring; there is no money bond in most juvenile cases.

  • Informal handling, juvenile probation or a Department of Youth Services commitment

Lauderdale youths aged 16 or 17 go straight to adult court for capital crimes, Class A felonies, trafficking, or felonies with a deadly weapon, a death or serious injury. For other offenses, prosecutors may ask for a transfer hearing for a child 14 or older. At the first juvenile hearing, a parent without money for counsel can request an appointed Lauderdale lawyer.

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Federal cases (U.S. District Court) from Lauderdale County

Lauderdale County belongs to the Northwestern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and that division's courthouse is right in Florence: the federal courthouse at 210 North Seminary Street, Florence, AL 35630, (256) 760-8415; the office is unstaffed, so clerk questions go to (205) 278-1700.

A Florence federal arrestee first sees a magistrate judge, and prosecutors can ask for detention in place of bail under the Bail Reform Act. An indictment must follow within 30 days, and the Speedy Trial Act sets a 70-day trial clock with many exclusions.The Marshals rent some Seminary Street beds, so a federal prisoner might be on the county roster. Locate federal prisoners with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

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Lauderdale courts, jail and contacts

Lauderdale County's state courts sit in the Florence courthouse on South Court Street:

  • Circuit Clerk (Circuit and District Court): 200 South Court Street, Florence, AL 35630, 256-760-5728; weekdays 8 to 5
  • District Attorney, 11th Judicial Circuit: either 256-760-5740 or 256-764-6351
  • Florence Municipal Court: 110 West College Street, 256-760-6625
  • Lauderdale County Detention Center: 563 South Seminary Street, 256-760-5771
  • Sheriff's Office: 256-760-5757

See our Lauderdale bail guide for bond steps; the Alabama Rule 7.2 bail schedule (https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr7_2.pdf) gives state ranges.

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Federal court for Lauderdale County

Lauderdale County federal cases go before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama:

  • Courthouse: the federal building in Florence, 210 North Seminary Street, Room 202, Florence, AL 35630 (unstaffed office), 256-760-8415
  • U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611

A U.S. magistrate settles whether a Lauderdale defendant remains held, and the Marshals place the prisoner.

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Finding a Lauderdale County inmate

Our Lauderdale inmate page lists more.

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ICE detainers in Lauderdale County

Seminary Street jail staff may receive an ICE detainer that seeks a hold of two business days or fewer after release.

  • 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/)

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Lauderdale warrant and docket searches

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Lauderdale schedules, offices and numbers do change, so treat this guide as background. For one person's case, hire an Alabama defense lawyer. Appointed-counsel requests go through the circuit clerk at (256) 760-5728. Seminary Street custody questions go to (256) 760-5771 or the sheriff at (256) 760-5757.

Lauderdale court dates get moved, so call the Circuit Clerk at 256-760-5728 (or Florence Municipal Court at 256-760-6625) before going to Court Street, and ask the detention center at 256-760-5771 whether the person is still held.

Courts

COURT CLERKS PASSPORTS
200 S COURT ST # 404
FLORENCE AL, 35630
256-760-5726
ROGERSVILLE MUNICIPAL COURT
50 WHEELER ST
ROGERSVILLE AL, 35652
256-247-0740

Search for an Inmate or Active Arrest Warrant in Lauderdale County

Human-verified information Manually curated

Every detail on this page is checked by hand, not scraped. This unofficial directory helps friends and family of incarcerated individuals find critical information — inmate lists, locations, bail resources, visitation hours, rules, and text, phone, email, and mail services — for jails, detention centers, and prisons across the United States.