Three levels of court split the work. Town courts take ordinance violations and in-town misdemeanors written by city officers. District Court takes state misdemeanors and traffic tickets, plus every felony's opening rounds. Circuit Court runs felony jury trials and appeals coming up from below.

Neither a city court nor District Court seats jurors, so a person found guilty in one of them gets a two-week window to request a fresh jury trial upstairs in Circuit Court. Children under 18 go to juvenile court instead. If you can't tell where a case belongs, phone the Pell City clerk at 205-338-2511 with the defendant's name.

Two court divisions split the county, and each keeps its own courthouse. Where the arrest happened decides which building gets the state case.

• Ashville courthouse, north end: Circuit Clerk, 100 6th Avenue North, Suite 400, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2184
• Pell City courthouse, south end: Circuit Clerk, 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2511
• Pell City jail for every adult held before or after trial: 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-814-3525

Ashville keeps a sheriff's office for bonds and warrants at 48 6th Street, Suite 300, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2140, though inmates are housed only in Pell City. Ask either clerk which building has the file before you drive across the county.

Ten towns hold their own court sessions. The busiest ones are listed with full addresses:

• Pell City Municipal Court, City Hall, 1905 1st Avenue North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2244, Tuesdays at 2 p.m.
• Moody Municipal Court, 670 Park Avenue, Moody, AL 35004, 205-640-0313, second Thursday and fourth Tuesday at 4 p.m.
• Springville Municipal Court, City Hall, 160 Walker Drive, Springville, AL 35146, 205-467-6133, first or third Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
• Odenville Municipal Court, City Hall, 183 Alabama Street, Odenville, AL 35120, 205-629-6366, first Thursday at 1 p.m.
• Ashville Municipal Court, 211 8th Street, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-4151

Smaller courts answer by phone: Steele 256-538-8145, Margaret 205-629-5501, Riverside 205-338-7692, Ragland 205-472-0400 and Argo 205-352-2120 (Thursdays at 1 p.m.). Places with no town court send cases to District Court.

This short first appearance is mostly paperwork in front of a judge. The judge checks identity, tells the defendant what the accusation is, warns that anything said can be used, raises the question of counsel and sets conditions for release. Guilt is not decided here. Felony defendants charged by complaint also learn they may request a preliminary hearing.

Alabama Rule 4.3 controls the clock. With a warrantless arrest, probable cause should be found within 48 hours. Anyone picked up on a warrant and still jailed should be brought into court by hour 72. The Ashville clerk, 205-594-2184, can give the setting and room.

Reckless driving, third-degree assault, a little marijuana and a first DUI show up most often. Expect roughly these steps:

1. An opening setting in town court or District Court, the moment to request a lawyer at public expense.
2. A plea, diversion, a class, or a bench trial heard by the judge alone.
3. If convicted, a jury appeal to Circuit Court, filed inside 14 days.

Domestic violence arrests come with a wait: no one walks out of the Pell City jail before a judge or magistrate writes conditions. The Pell City clerk, 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-2511, can explain the next step.

Misdemeanor sentences are served locally on 18th Street rather than in an ADOC prison. Alabama caps each class like this:

• Class A, for example third-degree assault or personal-use marijuana: 12 months at most, fine capped at $6,000.
• Class B: six months or less, with $3,000 as the top fine.
• Class C: three months or less, with fines capped at $500.
• Violations: 30 days or less, with fines capped at $200.
• First DUI: no more than 12 months, along with a fine from $600 to $2,100.

Probation, classes or community service get tacked on in many cases. A defense lawyer can explain what your exact charge carries, or ring the Ashville clerk at 205-594-2184 for the file.

Felony cases start small and climb. Until bond is posted, the defendant stays on 18th Street. A felony land bond needs two owners and property worth the full amount.

1. District Court holds a probable-cause hearing when the defense files for one during the first month after arrest.
2. Grand jurors look over the proof. An indictment sends the file up to Circuit Court in Ashville or Pell City, and giving up indictment can bring a plea sooner.
3. Circuit Court arraignment comes next, followed by evidence sharing and motions.
4. Things wrap up through a negotiated plea or twelve jurors' verdict.

Reach the Pell City courthouse clerk at 205-338-2511 for dates.

Class C covers crimes like second-degree theft or a third domestic violence conviction, with a prison range of 366 days through 10 years and fines reaching $15,000. Class D includes drug possession and vehicle break-ins, punished by 366 days to five years and up to $7,500.

When no violence is involved, the state's presumptive standards frequently steer these two classes toward supervised probation, a community corrections slot or split time. Past felony convictions push the range higher through Alabama's habitual offender law. Someone whose 21st birthday had not yet arrived on the offense date can ask the judge for youthful offender status; if granted, the file stays sealed and three years becomes the most time possible. The Ashville clerk at 205-594-2184 has the case file.

Defendants facing grave violent charges stay at the Pell City jail and may be kept without release. Using Aniah's Law, the 30th Circuit prosecutor can request a hearing for murder, first-degree rape, robbery or burglary, and similar listed crimes. Amendment 1, which Alabama voters passed May 19, 2026, stretched the list. Attempted murder now qualifies, and so does firing at an occupied house or car. Where bail is allowed, it can run high, with GPS or no-contact rules attached.

• Class A felonies: life, or a term running from a decade up to 99 years; using a gun or other deadly weapon lifts the floor to 20 years.
• For capital murder, a jury and judge weigh between the death penalty and a life term that never allows parole.

The prosecutor's office is at 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Suite 221, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-9429.

For state charges, the prosecutor is the 30th Judicial Circuit District Attorney. The main office is at 1815 Cogswell Avenue, Suite 221, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-338-9429, and an Ashville office answers at 205-594-2180. City prosecutors handle town court cases.

Defendants who are broke should speak up about it the first time they stand before the judge. In a state case, the judge appoints a lawyer and Alabama pays. Town judges appoint counsel when jail time is possible. Rule 6.3 allows another look if money changes. Alabama's Office of Indigent Defense Services is in Montgomery at 100 North Union Street, Suite 680, Montgomery, AL 36104, 334-242-7059.

Hearing dates come from the clerk's docket, and the jail list may lag behind. Clerks keep both courthouse calendars, so call the Ashville office at 205-594-2184 or the Pell City office at 205-338-2511 with the full name or case number. Jot the date, start time, room number and the hearing's purpose.

Online, the county clerk's court site covers both clerk offices, and a name search on Alacourt Access runs $9.99 per case. Courthouse computers in both towns can be used for free. A town case runs on that town court's own calendar.

County warrants are served by sheriff's deputies, who can confirm one at the Ashville office, 48 6th Street, Suite 300, Ashville, AL 35953, 205-594-2140. The sheriff's Most Wanted page opens after you accept a short notice, and ALEA's fugitive list covers people wanted statewide. Court records on Alacourt Access cost $9.99 per lookup. Defense counsel can schedule a surrender on 18th Street, 100 18th Street North, Pell City, AL 35125, 205-814-3525, and line up bond first. Town warrants are cleared through the court that issued them.

Juvenile court sits in both courthouses. Probation officers decide at intake whether a child goes home, enters diversion or is detained. Youths a judge orders held are driven to Coosa Valley Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4625 McClellan Boulevard, Anniston, AL 36204. Children never post bail, and a detained youth sees a judge inside three days, with Saturdays, Sundays and holidays counted (Ala. Code §12-15-207).

• Informal adjustment: the child follows set rules and no delinquency finding is made.
• Juvenile probation after the court finds the child delinquent.
• As a last step, placement with the Alabama Department of Youth Services.

Under §12-15-204, older teens (16 and 17) accused of a capital crime, Class A felony, armed felony, felony causing death or serious injury, or drug trafficking start in adult court and the Pell City jail. Youths 14 and up can face a transfer hearing if the prosecutor asks (§12-15-203). Juvenile intake runs through the clerks: Ashville 205-594-2184, Pell City 205-338-2511.

When federal agents charge someone from Pell City, Moody or Springville, the case goes to the Anniston federal courthouse, 1100 Gurnee Avenue, Anniston, AL 36201, 256-741-1533, under the Northern District's Eastern Division. The county moved into that division from the old Gadsden division in December 2024. Clerks are not always in Anniston, so the Birmingham clerk's line, 205-278-1700, can help too.

Agents bring charges like drug trafficking, felons with guns and child exploitation. Step one is a magistrate judge, who follows the Bail Reform Act and sets conditions or orders detention without any bail chart. The U.S. Marshals, 1729 5th Avenue North, Room 240, Birmingham, AL 35203, 205-829-6611, decide where a federal prisoner waits before sentencing.

A detainer is a federal request, not a state charge. The paper, Form I-247A, lets immigration agents ask the 18th Street jail for a short extra hold, 48 hours at most once local custody would end, so its officers can drive over. A paid county bond does not erase the form, and the state prosecution carries on in Ashville or Pell City.

Defense lawyers should know about any detainer because pleas can affect immigration status. The ICE field office for Alabama is in Louisiana, 181 James Drive West, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. After ICE has the person, enter their details in the ICE detainee locator.

A Circuit judge's sentence longer than a year will most likely be served in the state system run by ADOC. Many people sit in the Pell City jail for a while until ADOC sends a van. ADOC intake staff then check medical needs, mental health and risk level, and only after that is a prison picked. St. Clair Correctional Facility near Springville is an ADOC prison, separate from the county jail.

The ADOC inmate search shows the new location once the move is done; enter the AIS number or a name. Our Alabama state prison directory has prison addresses. Until transport, call the jail at 205-814-3525.

Release terms are part of the court case, and breaking them can send a person back to jail. Common terms include showing up at every setting, staying away from a victim, avoiding new arrests and, in some cases, wearing a GPS monitor. A bond can be forfeited after a missed date, and a fresh warrant can follow.

Write every date down and confirm it with the clerk a few days early: Ashville 205-594-2184 or Pell City 205-338-2511. If a ride, job or illness threatens a date, call the defense lawyer before the hearing, not after. Bond types and the $35 fee are explained on our bail page.