Two things decide it. One is the level of the offense. The other is whose badge, city or county, the arresting officer wore.

• Circuit Court: all felonies once indicted, jury trials, and appeals from the lower courts.
• District Court: misdemeanors charged under state law, traffic tickets, and the early felony steps like a preliminary hearing on Gateway Drive.
• Auburn or Opelika Municipal Court: ordinance violations and misdemeanors written by those cities' officers inside their police jurisdictions.
• Juvenile court: nearly everyone under 18, unless state law treats the charge as an adult one.

A misdemeanor written by a deputy or trooper is a District Court case. Felonies open there too, then move upstairs to Circuit Court if grand jurors vote an indictment. Both state courts operate inside the T.K. Davis Justice Center, 2311 Gateway Drive, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-737-3526.

Most state criminal business happens under one roof in Opelika, the county seat. Inside the T.K. Davis Justice Center, 2311 Gateway Drive, Opelika, AL 36801, you will find:

• Circuit Clerk for both Circuit and District Court, 334-737-3526, with posted hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• District Attorney for the 37th Judicial Circuit, Suite 111, 334-737-3446
• Juvenile intake, Suite E-129, 334-737-3464

Lee County is a one-county circuit, so the 37th Circuit District Attorney prosecutes state charges only from here. The clerk's staff can look up files, dates and filings, but they cannot give legal advice. Bring the case number when you can, since it speeds up every question at the counter.

Auburn Municipal Court sits at 141 N. Ross Street, Auburn, AL 36830, 334-501-3180. It hears charges that Auburn officers file within the city's police jurisdiction, such as ordinance violations and many misdemeanors. The city's court page lists sessions on Tuesday mornings and afternoons, Wednesday mornings, and Thursday mornings and afternoons.

A few other numbers help:

• City prosecutor's office: 334-501-3181
• Indigent counsel's office, by appointment: 334-232-9392

Auburn appoints a lawyer for defendants who cannot pay, and the judge decides who qualifies at the first setting. People held at Frederick Road on an Auburn charge may also have a separate county case, so ask the court which matters are its own.

Opelika Municipal Court is at 300 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-705-5190. Office staff keep weekday hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The judge holds court every Wednesday at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., except on holidays and during scheduled magistrate seminars.

The court handles charges written by Opelika officers inside the city's police jurisdiction. Municipal probation and court referral share the building and answer at 334-705-5198. Someone on city probation who picks up a new arrest may face a probation problem on top of the new charge.

Not sure if the case is a city one or a state one? Call that office before the court date. Clerks can look it up by the defendant's legal name and birthday.

Outside Auburn and Opelika, only one town keeps a courtroom, and it sits mostly over the line in Macon. Here is where each smaller place sends its cases:

• Smiths Station: sheriff's deputies patrol the city, and its charges go to District Court at the T.K. Davis Justice Center, 2311 Gateway Drive, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-737-3526. City Hall is at 2336 Lee Road 430, Smiths Station, AL 36877, 334-297-8771.
• Loachapoka: charges are sent to District Court too.
• Notasulga: the town lies mostly in Macon County and keeps a small municipal court at its town hall, 76 West Main Street, Notasulga, AL 36866, 334-257-1454.

Rural areas such as Beauregard, Beulah and Salem are covered by the sheriff, so those charges go to the state courts. The ticket or warrant itself names the court, so check that line first.

The opening hearing is brief. A judge or magistrate confirms who the person is, reads the charges, sets or reviews release terms, and asks whether the person needs a lawyer paid for by the state.

Alabama Rule 4.3 controls how soon this happens. Officers who made a warrantless arrest must have their reasons approved by a judge, as probable cause, by the 48-hour mark. Someone picked up on a warrant who is still sitting in jail for lack of bond has to see a judge or magistrate quickly, with 72 hours as the outer limit.

No guilty or not guilty plea is needed that day in a felony case. Families usually cannot speak at this hearing, but passing the lawyer details on work, housing and medical needs can shape the release terms. For the setting, call the circuit clerk at 334-737-3526.

Misdemeanors such as a first DUI, public intoxication, criminal mischief or third-degree domestic violence follow a quicker path:

1. A first appearance or plea docket in District Court or a city court.
2. A trial before the judge, a plea deal, a court referral program or pretrial diversion.
3. After a conviction, a two-week window to demand a new trial before a Circuit Court jury.

The most a sentence can carry:

• Class A (for example, domestic violence in the third degree, or theft of property under $500 in the fourth degree): up to 1 year and $6,000.
• Class B: up to 6 months and $3,000.
• Class C, including public intoxication: up to 3 months and $500.
• First DUI: up to 1 year, a $600 to $2,100 fine and a 90-day license suspension. Rack up a fourth DUI inside 10 years and it turns into a Class C felony.

Felonies such as forgery, drug possession, burglary or theft move through several stages in the 37th Circuit:

1. If defense counsel requests it, District Court holds a probable-cause hearing.
2. A grand jury decides whether to indict. Some defendants waive indictment to settle sooner.
3. Arraignment in Circuit Court, evidence sharing from the District Attorney, motions and status dates.
4. A plea deal or a jury trial at the justice center.

Possible penalties:

• Class B, like first-degree theft of $2,500 or more or of a vehicle: 2 to 20 years and up to $30,000.
• Class C, like third-degree burglary or second-degree forgery: at least a year and a day, at most 10 years, plus as much as $15,000.
• Class D, like drug possession or third-degree theft of $500 to $1,499: at least a year and a day, at most 5 years, plus as much as $7,500.

When nobody was hurt and it is a first offense, Class C and D cases often end in probation, community corrections or a split term under the state's guidelines. Someone with earlier felony convictions can get a much longer sentence under the Habitual Felony Offender Act.

People charged with serious violence usually stay at Frederick Road until a judge holds a bail hearing. For murder, first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and other listed crimes, the District Attorney can ask that no bail be set at all under Aniah's Law.

Voters made that list longer, and the change has applied since May 19, 2026. Now prosecutors in Opelika can also seek a no-bail order for attempted murder. The same goes for hiring or plotting with someone to kill, and for shots fired at an occupied Opelika or Auburn house, business or vehicle.

• Class A felonies, like murder or first-degree robbery: no less than 10 years, as many as 99 or life, and fines reaching $60,000. Using a gun or deadly weapon brings mandatory minimum terms.
• Capital murder: death or life without parole.

Lawyers appointed in capital cases must meet state experience standards. The defense can fight a no-bail request at the hearing.

A defendant who could be jailed but has no money to hire a lawyer may request appointed counsel. The request rests on a sworn form covering wages, what the person owns, debts and the people they support. A judge reads it and decides. Raise it at the first appearance, or phone the circuit clerk at 334-737-3526, who processes the form for state court cases.

City cases work a bit differently. Auburn's judge screens for eligibility at the first setting and appoints counsel for defendants without the means to hire one. Its indigent counsel office takes calls by appointment at 334-232-9392.

Alabama Rule 6.3 lets the court take a new look if money troubles change. Questions about how appointment works statewide can go to Alabama's Office of Indigent Defense Services, 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059.

Yes. No juries sit in the city courts or in District Court, so the law gives a second chance. That is why a conviction in either court can be appealed. The deadline is 14 days, and the case then goes to Circuit Court. The Circuit Court then hears the case again from the start, this time in front of a jury if the person wants one.

That 14-day window is short and easy to miss. Tell the lawyer right away if you want to appeal. The appeal paperwork goes through the court that decided the case, then moves to the circuit clerk at the T.K. Davis Justice Center, 2311 Gateway Drive, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-737-3526.

An appeal can change bond terms, so ask about release while the new trial is pending.

Call the sheriff's warrant line, 334-737-7022, to ask about a county warrant. Its campus is at 1900 Frederick Road, Opelika, AL 36801. City warrants from Auburn or Opelika police are handled by those departments.

Two court tools help too. The Lee County court site posts case calendars, and Alacourt Access sells statewide case lookups for $9.99 each. The circuit clerk keeps the filings themselves.

Found one? A defense lawyer can schedule a time to turn in at Frederick Road and often line up bond first. That beats an arrest in front of coworkers or neighbors.

Hearing dates change often, so check before anyone drives to court. Good places to look:

• The county court site, which lists clerk contacts and calendars.
• Alacourt Access, a paid statewide search where a name lookup costs $9.99 per case.
• The circuit clerk's counter at the T.K. Davis Justice Center, 2311 Gateway Drive, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-737-3526, where case files can be read for free.

For a city case, call Auburn Municipal Court at 334-501-3180 or Opelika Municipal Court at 334-705-5190. Staff can search faster with a case number, but a legal name and birthday work too.

Charges brought by federal prosecutors here are part of the Middle District of Alabama's Eastern Division. That division has a courtroom right in Opelika, inside the federal building at 701 Avenue A, Opelika, AL 36801. Clerk staff work out of Montgomery and answer at 334-954-3600.

The case opens in front of a magistrate judge. Later, a detention hearing applies the Bail Reform Act: the magistrate weighs flight risk and danger, then chooses between home with rules or jail until trial. Federal court has no bail chart to look up.

Before trial, the U.S. Marshals Service keeps federal prisoners and picks where they stay. Its office is at 1 Church Street, Suite A-100, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-922-6960. Once sentenced and moved, a federal prisoner can be found through the federal inmate locator once moved.

It can. The Gateway Drive prosecution continues either way, and the Opelika judge has no power over the detainer. On Form I-247A, ICE asks Frederick Road to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving agents time to collect them.

That can matter for court. Someone shipped off by ICE can end up absent at a Gateway Drive hearing, and an absence can bring a warrant or forfeiture. Defense lawyers often talk with immigration lawyers before a plea, because some convictions carry immigration effects.

Detainers here come from the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. Families tracking a person after the transfer can search the ICE Online Detainee Locator System; it asks for the A-number plus birth country.

After a youth arrest, a juvenile probation officer reviews the case. That officer has three choices: release to a parent, informal handling with no court date, or a petition sent to the juvenile judge. Juvenile intake works out of the T.K. Davis Justice Center, 2311 Gateway Drive, Suite E-129, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-737-3464.

Children who are held go to the Lee County Youth Development Center, 1109 Spring Drive, Opelika, AL 36801, 334-203-1082, a 32-bed center certified by the Alabama Department of Youth Services. A detention hearing must come within 72 hours (Ala. Code § 12-15-207).

• Outcomes range from diversion, to probation with school, curfew or counseling terms, to a DYS commitment for serious or repeat offenses.
• Some teens go straight to adult court. Under Ala. Code § 12-15-204, that happens at 16 and 17 for capital crimes, Class A felonies and drug trafficking. It also covers felonies that kill or badly hurt someone, and felonies with a deadly weapon.
• Starting at age 14, § 12-15-203 lets the state request a hearing to move a youth's case into adult court.

The Alabama Department of Corrections takes over for terms longer than a year. Frederick Road keeps the person until ADOC has space. Then they move to a reception prison, where staff sort them by security risk, health and other needs before sending them to their long-term prison.

Follow the transfer on the ADOC inmate lookup, which searches by name or by AIS number. Our Alabama state prison directory covers each prison after you know where the person went.

Was the defendant under 21 when the crime happened? Then the lawyer can ask for youthful offender treatment. If the judge agrees, the court file is sealed and the sentence cannot top 3 years.