The Alabama Circuit Courts are the state trial court

Trial court

A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...

s of general jurisdiction

General jurisdiction

A court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.-Courts of general jurisdiction in the United States:All federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Many U.S...

 in the State of Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

. The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

 to hear civil

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 and criminal

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

 cases. For civil cases, the courts has authority to try cases with an amount in controversy

Amount in controversy

Amount in controversy is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the...

 of more than $3,000 and has exclusive

Exclusive jurisdiction

In civil procedure, exclusive jurisdiction exists where one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. It is the opposite situation from concurrent jurisdiction, in which more than one court may take jurisdiction over the case.Exclusive jurisdiction is typically...

 original jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction

The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision.-France:...

 over claims for more than $10,000. The Circuit Courts are the criminal trial courts for most felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

 charges, and for some misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

s and lesser included offense

Lesser included offense

A lesser included offense, in criminal law, is a crime for which all of the elements necessary to impose liability are also elements found in a more serious crime....

s. The Circuit Courts also have appellate jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction

Appellate jurisdiction is the power of the Supreme Court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right...

 over certain cases arising from the Alabama District Courts (the trial courts of limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the courts' jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, family matters, etc....

in Alabama).

The state has 143 Circuit Court judges divided among 41 judicial circuits. Circuit Judges are elected to six year terms in partisan elections with no limit on the number of terms excepting that no judge may seek re-election once he/she passes the age of seventy years. The partisan alignment of the Circuit Judges prior to the 2010 election was 87 Democrats, 55 Republicans, and 1 Independent. In the event of a vacancy during a term of office The Governor of Alabama usually has the authority to fill the unexpired terms. However, a limited number of the circuits (i.e., The 10th Circuit) have judicial commissions which submit nominess from which the Governor is obligated to choose.