Criminal cases here run through three levels of court. Which badge made the arrest mostly decides the starting point:

• City courts in Hamilton, Winfield, Guin and Hackleburg take ordinance and misdemeanor cases brought by their own police.
• District Court in Hamilton covers juvenile matters, traffic tickets, state misdemeanors, and felonies before indictment. Cases from deputies, state troopers and towns with no court land here.
• Circuit Court, in that same courthouse, tries felonies after indictment and hears appeals.

City and district judges decide cases without juries. A person convicted in one of those rooms has 14 days to file an appeal, which sends the matter upstairs for a jury trial that starts fresh. Ask the clerk at 205-921-7451, 132 Military Street South, 2nd Floor, Hamilton, AL 35570, which court has the file.

The circuit clerk's office, on the second floor of the Marion County Courthouse at 132 Military Street South, 2nd Floor, Hamilton, AL 35570, keeps files for both District and Circuit Court. Its counter opens Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and shuts for lunch between noon and 1:00 p.m.

Two numbers reach the office: 205-921-7451 and 205-921-4301. The Marion County court website lists clerk services and a building directory. For court costs, the counter takes money orders and cashier's checks, while personal checks are returned. Carry a photo ID and your case number, and arrive a little early before any hearing.

Four towns keep a court for cases their officers write. Read the ticket: it prints which court and what day.

• Hamilton Municipal Court: 422 2nd Street SW, Hamilton, AL 35570, 205-921-9027
• Winfield Municipal Court: City Hall, 111 Bankhead Highway, Winfield, AL 35594, 205-487-4337. Court meets on the first and third Mondays. Winfield crosses into Fayette County.
• Guin Municipal Court: City Hall assembly room, 7500 US Highway 43, Guin, AL 35563, 205-468-3835 or 205-468-2242. Court meets the third Tuesday of the month at 3:00 p.m.
• Hackleburg Municipal Court: Town Hall on Walker Street in Hackleburg, 205-935-3133

Brilliant, Twin and Glen Allen, a town that reaches partly into Fayette County, have no court of their own, so their charges go to District Court in Hamilton. Haleyville sits partly in Marion County, and its officers working that side still file in Haleyville's own court.

The first appearance is short. A District Court judge, or the city judge for a city charge, reads the charges, makes sure the defendant follows them, and looks at bond. Speak up here if money for a private lawyer is short; asking now gets an appointed one moving.

Clocks protect anyone still sitting in jail. After an arrest with no warrant, Rule 4.3 sets a 48-hour limit for the probable cause decision. If a warrant brought them in and they cannot afford the bond, a judge must see them inside three days. In domestic violence cases, only a judge or magistrate may set bond, and the person qualifies once 24 hours pass. To learn whether the person is still on Industrial Drive, call the jail at 205-921-7433, 842 Industrial Drive, Hamilton, AL 35570.

Most misdemeanors in Hamilton finish within one to four months. A typical case follows this path:

1. A first appearance in District Court or a city court, with a chance to request appointed counsel.
2. One or more settings where the lawyer and prosecutor talk about the evidence.
3. A finish: a guilty plea, a dismissal after the defendant completes conditions, or a bench trial.
4. An appeal to Circuit Court, if wanted, filed within 14 days, which brings a fresh jury trial.

Show up for every one of these dates. Skipping even one invites a warrant and can cost the bond money. For the next date, phone the circuit clerk at 205-921-7451 or the city court named on the ticket.

Each misdemeanor class in Alabama has its own ceiling, and none goes past a year behind bars:

• Class A, which includes fourth-degree theft of property or of services: a year at most and $6,000.
• Class B, such as menacing: up to six months and $3,000.
• Class C, such as harassing communications: up to three months and $500.
• Violations: up to 30 days and $200.
• First DUI: as much as one year in jail, fines from $600 to $2,100, and a 90-day license suspension.

A judge may choose probation or fines in place of jail. Anyone who cannot pay a lawyer should ask early for appointed counsel through the clerk at 205-921-7451.

Felony defendants stay at the Marion County Jail unless bond is met. A felony usually takes nine to eighteen months from arrest to a plea or verdict. The road looks like this:

1. A preliminary hearing before a district judge. The defense must demand it within 30 days, and it only happens if no indictment has come down yet.
2. Grand jury review. Some defendants give up indictment so a plea can happen sooner.
3. Arraignment and pretrial settings in Circuit Court.
4. A plea agreement or a jury trial.

Circuit Court felony papers live with the clerk at 132 Military Street South, 2nd Floor, Hamilton, AL 35570, phone 205-921-7451. Ask the defense lawyer before waiving any hearing.

How long a felony sentence runs turns on two things, the felony class and past convictions:

• Class B, such as first-degree theft. Stealing any vehicle counts, whatever it is worth. The range is 2 to 20 years, with fines reaching $30,000.
• Class C, for example third-degree burglary or forged papers: 366 days to 10 years, and as much as $15,000 in fines.
• Class D, such as possessing methamphetamine: more than a year and up to five, with a fine capped at $7,500.

Alabama's presumptive sentencing standards steer many first-time, nonviolent felony cases toward probation or community corrections. Past felonies raise the stakes sharply. Was the defendant under 21 when it happened? Then the lawyer can file for youthful offender status. Approval keeps the record sealed, and no sentence can then run past three years. A lawyer can explain how these rules fit one case.

People charged with violent felonies wait on Industrial Drive, and some never leave before trial. Under Aniah's Law, the 25th Circuit prosecutor may ask a Hamilton judge to deny bail after a hearing for charges like murder or first-degree robbery. Since May 19, 2026, an amendment adds attempted murder, murder conspiracy and solicitation, and shootings into homes or cars that were occupied.

• Hurting an on-duty officer counts as second-degree assault, a Class C felony with 366 days to 10 years.
• Murder sits in Class A, alongside first-degree robbery. The range starts at 10 years and climbs to 99 or life, and a firearm pushes the minimum to 20.
• Capital murder carries two possible sentences: execution, or prison for life without parole.

Every call out of the Hamilton jail is recorded, and prosecutors often play those recordings in court. Keep talk about the facts for private visits with the lawyer.

The District Attorney for the 25th Judicial Circuit, headquartered in Hamilton and serving Winston County as well, handles state charges. Reach that office at 205-921-7403. Each of the four towns with a court uses its own prosecutor for city cases.

Marion relies on appointed private lawyers rather than a full-time public defender staff. Hamilton judges fill that gap by appointing private attorneys, with the state paying, whenever a qualifying defendant risks jail. Lawyers named on serious felonies must be qualified for that level of case. Make the request in open court or by phoning the clerk at 205-921-7451. Montgomery's Office of Indigent Defense Services, 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059, runs the program statewide.

State cases from Hamilton can be followed several ways:

• Ring the circuit clerk at 205-921-7451 and spell the name, then give a birth date.
• Read the file for free at the clerk's counter, 132 Military Street South, 2nd Floor, Hamilton, AL 35570.
• Search Alacourt Access for a fee, with each name search costing $9.99.
• Tickets written by Hamilton, Winfield, Guin or Hackleburg officers are tracked by that town's court.

Before you drive to Hamilton for a hearing, check that the person is not still in custody with the jail roster. If they are being held, the jail moves them to court, and family members only need to know the time and courtroom.

County warrants are served by deputies working from the Sheriff's Office, 842 Industrial Drive, Hamilton, AL 35570, whose phone, 205-921-7433, never stops being answered. Photos of people the office is hunting fill its Most Wanted page. For a statewide look, ALEA's fugitive list can be searched by name. Case records sit on Alacourt Access at $9.99 a name, or call the clerk at 205-921-7451, 132 Military Street South, 2nd Floor, Hamilton, AL 35570. The safest path is turning oneself in on Industrial Drive with a lawyer, with bond planned ahead.

Hamilton's district judge doubles as the juvenile judge. Every referral lands first with Juvenile Probation, on the Marion County Courthouse, 3rd Floor, 132 Military Street South, Hamilton, AL 35570, phone 205-921-4562. Officers pick a path: the child goes home to family, the matter is worked out informally, or a petition is filed. Youths who must be locked up are driven to a juvenile center outside the county, and the judge holds a detention hearing inside 72 hours. Children never get a bail amount.

• A case can end in an informal adjustment or in probation with the county's juvenile office. When nothing local will work, a commitment order hands the child over to the Alabama Department of Youth Services.
• Under section 12-15-204, youths who are 16 or 17 skip juvenile court entirely on capital crimes, Class A felonies and trafficking. Felony cases where a victim died or suffered grave harm, or where the accused carried a deadly weapon, take that path as well. Those teens may be jailed on Industrial Drive.
• For other charges, section 12-15-203 lets prosecutors seek an adult-court transfer once a child turns 14.

A child whose family cannot pay a lawyer gets one from the court.

Federal prosecutions from Hamilton, Winfield and the rest of this county are heard in Tuscaloosa, where the Northern District of Alabama keeps its Western Division courtroom at the Shelby federal courthouse, 2005 University Boulevard, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, 205-561-1670. Jasper used to get these cases; the switch to Tuscaloosa came in December 2024. Staff are not in Tuscaloosa daily, so phone the Birmingham clerk at 205-278-1700 for filings and dates.

Within a day or two, a magistrate judge holds the opening hearing. Bondsmen play no part; the judge sets conditions, or holds a detention hearing when the government wants the defendant kept. Pretrial housing is chosen by the U.S. Marshals Service in Birmingham, 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611. Sentenced federal prisoners appear on the federal inmate locator.

No. The Marion charges keep moving, and the defendant still owes the court an appearance at each setting. ICE uses Form I-247A to ask Industrial Drive to hang on to the inmate for a maximum of 48 more hours after the state is done, which gives agents a window to arrive.

Mention citizenship worries to the defense lawyer early, since pleading guilty may affect immigration status. The New Orleans Field Office covers Alabama at 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. Once agents take the person, the ICE Online Detainee Locator System works with an A-number and birth country.

Prison sentences longer than twelve months mean a move into state custody, run by the Alabama Department of Corrections. Most people stay on Industrial Drive until a state bed opens and then ride to an intake center. At intake the state weighs security risk, medical care, mental health and gang connections before choosing a prison.

Open the ADOC inmate search and enter a full name or the six-digit AIS number from ADOC paperwork. Youthful offender cases are skipped, so a blank screen is no sign the person is free. After the state names a prison, our state prison listings give that prison's address. Until the transfer, the jail at 205-921-7433, 842 Industrial Drive, Hamilton, AL 35570, can confirm the person is still there.

Missing court is serious, though quick action often repairs it. Hamilton judges can order an arrest and start taking the bond. Under Rule 7.6, notice goes out first, and the defendant and surety get time to answer before forfeiture is final.

1. Call the defense lawyer that same day.
2. Phone the circuit clerk at 205-921-7451, or the city court on the ticket, to learn the new status.
3. Pull up the docket on Alacourt.
4. Work out a surrender plan with counsel instead of waiting for deputies at the door.

Keep any notice from the court and the bond receipt together.