Montgomery County Detention Facility Criminal Court Process

Last updated by Mark Miclette

Search for an Inmate or Active Arrest Warrant in Montgomery County

Criminal Court Process for Montgomery County Alabama

The capital city is also the Montgomery County seat. State felonies are tried in Circuit Court and state misdemeanors in District Court, both in the county courthouse at 251 South Lawrence Street. Montgomery police tickets and city misdemeanors go to Montgomery Municipal Court at 1001 Madison Avenue. The 15th Circuit District Attorney handles state charges, and city prosecutors handle city cases. Adults facing state charges are held at the Montgomery County Detention Facility, run by Sheriff Derrick Cunningham, where release depends on a bond set by a judge or magistrate. Before driving to the courthouse, open Montgomery County Inmate Search.

Which Montgomery court takes the charge. A city ordinance ticket, or a misdemeanor written by a Montgomery police officer inside the city's police jurisdiction, is filed in Montgomery Municipal Court. Deputy and trooper misdemeanors from outside the city are filed in Montgomery County District Court. Felonies open in District Court and move up to Circuit Court once indicted. City and District Court trials have no jury, so a person found guilty there has 14 days to appeal for a fresh Circuit Court trial and may ask for jurors. Children under 18 begin in juvenile court at the Youth Facility unless the case is transferred.

Montgomery's two lockups. The Sheriff runs the Montgomery County Detention Facility at 225 South McDonough Street, where state-charge arrests from across the county are booked; the jail line is (334) 832-4985. The City of Montgomery keeps a municipal jail for city charges and city warrants; ask Montgomery Police at (334) 625-2651 about someone held there. A person with both city and state charges may be moved from one jail to the other before release.

1. Montgomery courts: circuit, district, city and juvenile

Montgomery County forms the whole 15th Judicial Circuit, so one courthouse, one clerk and one District Attorney handle each state case here. The City of Montgomery and the Town of Pike Road are the county's two incorporated places.

State courts

Municipal courts

  • Montgomery Municipal Court, 1001 Madison Ave., (334) 625-2776
  • Pike Road: the town has no police force and the Sheriff patrols it; ask Pike Road Town Hall, 9575 Vaughn Road, (334) 272-9883, or the Circuit Clerk where a Pike Road charge is heard.

In state court, the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office represents people who cannot pay a lawyer, and private attorneys are appointed for conflicts. At Montgomery Municipal Court, ask the judge about a lawyer at the first setting. Bond questions for the Montgomery County Detention Facility go to the Sheriff's Office; city jail bonds go through Montgomery Police.

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2. Montgomery misdemeanors: small theft, harassment, marijuana, first DUI

After booking at the city jail or the Montgomery County Detention Facility, most Montgomery misdemeanor defendants can post a scheduled bail that day with cash, a property bond or a licensed bondsman, and some are released on their own recognizance. Under Rule 4.3, anyone the Montgomery jail still holds appears before a magistrate or judge by the 72-hour mark, and no-warrant arrests receive a probable cause ruling by hour 48. Alabama law keeps a person arrested for domestic violence for 24 hours before bail.

What the case looks like

  • Arraignment in District or Municipal Court: enter a plea and ask for the Public Defender or an appointed lawyer.
  • Bench trial, plea deal, or a diversion or pretrial program.
  • After a conviction, 14 days to appeal for a Circuit Court jury trial.

Montgomery misdemeanor penalties

  • Class A misdemeanor (fourth-degree theft, simple marijuana possession): up to 1 year in jail and a $6,000 fine.
  • Class B: up to 6 months and $3,000. Class C: up to 3 months and $500. Violations: up to 30 days.
  • First DUI: up to 1 year, a $600 to $2,100 fine, license suspension and DUI school; a fourth DUI within 10 years becomes a Class C felony.

Qualifying District Court misdemeanor clients are handled by the Public Defender's Office; ask at the first Montgomery court date.

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3. Montgomery felonies: drugs, burglary, car break-ins, theft

Montgomery felony defendants stay at the Montgomery County Detention Facility until a bond is posted. At the first appearance, a judge reviews release terms and checks whether the Public Defender's Office should be appointed.

Montgomery felony steps

  1. Preliminary hearing in District Court, on request, to test probable cause.
  2. The 15th Circuit grand jury decides on an indictment, which moves the case to Circuit Court; a defendant may skip indictment and plead sooner.
  3. Circuit Court arraignment, followed by discovery, motions and docket dates.
  4. A plea agreement or a jury trial at the Lawrence Street courthouse.

Felony classes and punishment

  • Class B (first-degree theft of $2,500 or more, for example): 2 to 20 years, fine up to $30,000.
  • Class C (second-degree theft of $1,500 to $2,499, third-degree burglary): 1 year and 1 day to 10 years, up to $15,000.
  • Class D (most non-marijuana drug possession, or theft of $500 to $1,499): 1 year and 1 day to 5 years, up to $7,500.

Alabama's presumptive standards send a lot of nonviolent Montgomery Class C and D cases into probation, community corrections or split sentences, and earlier felonies lift the range under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. A defendant under 21 on the offense date may apply for youthful offender status, which seals the Montgomery record and caps punishment at 3 years. Ask a public defender or private lawyer about the DA's pretrial diversion and drug court programs.

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4. Montgomery violent felonies: robbery, murder, assault, shooting into a building

Violent charges are booked at the Montgomery County Detention Facility, and release is much harder. Under Aniah's Law, 15th Circuit prosecutors can seek a detention hearing where a Montgomery judge may refuse bail after a hearing covering murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault or another listed crime; Amendment 1, approved May 19, 2026, reached attempted murder and firing at a Montgomery home or vehicle with people inside. When bond is set, expect a high amount plus monitoring or no-contact orders.

What to expect

  • Class A felonies (murder, first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary): 10 to 99 years or life, fine up to $60,000; using a firearm or deadly weapon adds mandatory minimums.
  • Capital murder convictions in Montgomery leave two Montgomery sentences on the table: death, or life where release on parole is barred.

The Public Defender's Office or qualified appointed counsel defends violent-case clients who cannot pay. Do not talk about the case on recorded jail calls.

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5. Montgomery youths under 18

A child picked up by Montgomery police or deputies goes to juvenile intake at the Montgomery County Youth Facility on Air Base Boulevard, home to the juvenile court and the county's secure detention unit, (334) 261-4100. Intake staff choose between sending the child home with a parent, an informal fix, or a formal petition. Children do not post adult bail, and a detained child gets a detention hearing within 72 hours (Ala. Code §12-15-207).

Possible outcomes

  • Informal adjustment or diversion, with conditions but no finding of delinquency.
  • Supervision by Montgomery juvenile probation officers.
  • Commitment to the Alabama Department of Youth Services for the most serious or repeated conduct.

Transfer to adult court

Ala. Code §12-15-204 puts Montgomery 16- and 17-year-olds in adult court for a capital charge, a Class A felony, drug trafficking, a felony with a deadly weapon, or a felony that kills or badly hurts someone, and an adult-charged teen may be moved to the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Prosecutors can also seek a transfer hearing for youths 14 and older under §12-15-203. A Montgomery child may have counsel, appointed free from the Public Defender's Office, when the family cannot pay.

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6. Montgomery federal charges at One Church Street

Montgomery County is in the Northern Division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, at the federal courthouse, One Church Street, Montgomery, (334) 954-3600. Cases turn federal for crimes such as felon-in-possession gun charges, large drug conspiracies, bank robbery and fraud, or for crimes on Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base.

How the federal process works

At One Church Street a magistrate judge holds the opening hearing and then a detention hearing under the Bail Reform Act where the judge orders release on conditions or detention. Montgomery federal defendants short on money receive appointed federal defenders or CJA panel counsel. A person held for the U.S. Marshals may appear on the Montgomery County Detention Facility roster. After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

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7. Lawrence Street, McDonough Street and Madison Avenue numbers

State cases from Montgomery County run through the Lawrence Street courthouse, while city cases go to Madison Avenue:

The Montgomery County bail guide explains Montgomery payment windows, and the Alabama Rule 7.2 bail schedule (https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/rules/cr7_2.pdf) lists each band.

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8. Montgomery County federal cases

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama hears federal charges from Montgomery County:

  • Clerk: the federal courthouse in Montgomery, One Church Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-954-3600
  • U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 1 Church Street, Suite A-100, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-922-6960

A magistrate judge at One Church Street decides release for a Montgomery defendant, and the Marshals pick the jail.

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9. Finding a Montgomery County prisoner

More links are on our Montgomery County inmate page.

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10. ICE detainers at the McDonough Street jail

On McDonough Street, an ICE detainer can add no more than two working days after Montgomery County would free the person.

  • 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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11. How do I check for a Montgomery County warrant?

Sheriff's deputies serve county warrants, and the sheriff's warrant search checks a name online. Past the county line, ALEA's fugitive page tracks people still sought. Older cases appear on Alacourt Access, selling searches at $9.99. A lawyer can arrange a surrender at the Detention Facility, 225 South McDonough Street, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-832-4985, with bond planned. Court clerks at 251 South Lawrence Street, 334-832-1260, handle a missed date, and city tickets go to the Municipal Court at 1001 Madison Avenue, 334-625-2776, both in Montgomery, AL 36104. Search the local roster to find a booking number.

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Montgomery readers should use this court summary as background rather than legal counsel, because offices and numbers shift. A defense lawyer licensed in Alabama can speak to your charge. For appointed counsel in state court, call the Public Defender at (334) 265-1783; for someone in the county jail, call (334) 832-4985.

Montgomery County dockets can shift, so phone the clerk at 334-832-1260 or Montgomery Municipal Court at 334-625-2776 before going downtown, and ask the jail at 334-832-4985 whether the person is still on McDonough Street.

Courts

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PROBATE OFF
PO BOX 223
MONTGOMERY AL, 36101
334-832-1246
CIVIL APPEALS COURT
300 DEXTER AVE
MONTGOMERY AL, 36104
334-229-0733

Search for an Inmate or Active Arrest Warrant in Montgomery County

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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.