District Court
Purpose and Jurisdiction

Each county in Alabama has a District Court. Sessions of court are held in each county seat and in each municipality of 1,000 or more population where no municipal court exists. The jurisdiction of the Cullman District Court is as follows:


CIVIL: Original jurisdiction concurrent with the Circuit Court in civil actions in which the matter in controversy does not exceed $10,000.00. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions based on evictions or unlawful detainer. 

SMALL CLAIMS: Exclusive jurisdiction over all civil actions in which the matter in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs, does not exceed $3000.00. 

CRIMINAL MISDEMEANORS: Exclusive original trial jurisdiction over prosecutions of all offenses defined by law or ordinances as misdemeanors, except prosecutions by the municipalities having municipal courts. 

CRIMINAL FELONIES: Original jurisdiction concurrent with the Circuit Court to receive pleas of guilty in prosecutions of offenses defined by law as felonies not punishable by sentence of death. Jurisdiction to set bonds and hold preliminary hearings in prosecutions for felonies as provided by law. 

TRAFFIC: Exclusive original jurisdiction of misdemeanor prosecutions for traffic infractions except ordinance infractions prosecuted in municipal courts. 

JUVENILE: Juvenile jurisdiction is concurrent with the Circuit Court. Included within the juvenile jurisdiction are delinquency cases (misdemeanor), felony offenses committed by children under 18, dependency cases (where the Court determines if a child is being abused or neglected) and child support cases. 

OTHER: A District Judge may be appointed to sit as a special Circuit Judge to hear other cases as may be necessary. In those cases, the District Judge may preside over Divorce, Criminal Jury, Circuit Civil and Protection from Abuse cases as my be necessary.