The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals is one of two appellate courts in the 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...

 judicial system. The court was established in 1969 when what had been one unitary state Court of Appeals was broken into a criminal appeals court and a civil appeals court. The unified Court of Appeals had been operative since 1911.

The court is composed of five judges, one of whom is elected by the members of the court to serve as presiding judge. The Court of Criminal Appeals hears all appeals of felony and misdemeanor cases, including violations of city ordinances and all post-conviction writs in criminal cases.

The Clerk of the Court is Lane Mann.

Overview

The Court of Criminal Appeals hears appeals on cases that have been decided at the Circuit Court level (of which there are 40 in the state). The five judges that sit on the Court of Criminal Appeals hears all criminal appeals including felony cases, convictions involving misdemeanors, and violations of multiple ordinances.

Election of judges

Judges are usually elected to the court in statewide partisan elections for six-year terms on the court. However, the Governor has the power to fill court vacancies when they occur, usually due to death, resignation or elevation to a higher court by one of its members. The two newest members of the court were appointed under such circumstances. Michael Joiner, the Presiding Circuit Judge in Shelby County was appointed to the court on February 7, 2011, by Governor Robert J. Bentley, to fill the remainder of the term of James Allen Main. Justice Main was appointed to the Alabama Supreme Court by Governor Bob Riley

Bob Riley

Bob Riley may refer to:* Bob Riley, 52nd Governor of Alabama* Bob C. Riley, acting Governor of Arkansas for 11 days in 1975* Bob Riley , sports car designer and founder of Riley Technologies...

 in January, 2011.
Governor Bentley also appointed Marshall County District Judge Liles C. Burke to the court on February 16, 2011, to fill the remainder of Justice Kelli Wise' term. Justice Wise was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in November 2010.

Qualifications

To serve on the court, a person must:

• Be licensed to practice law in the state of Alabama
• Have resided in the state for a minimum of one year
• Be no more than 70 years of age at time of appointment or election.

Current judges

Judge	Party	First elected	Term ends
Samuel Henry Welch, Chief Judge Chief judge Chief Judge is a title that can refer to the highest-ranking judge of a court that has more than one judge. The meaning and usage of the term vary from one court system to another...	Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...	2006	2016
J. Elizabeth Kellum	Republican	2008	2014
Mary Windom	Republican	2008	2014
Liles C. Burke	Republican		2012
Michael Joiner	Republican		2014

Former Court of Criminal Appeals judges

• H. W. "Bucky" McMillan (R)
• Frank Long (R)
• Greg Shaw (R)
• Pamela Willis Baschab (R)
• Jean Brown (R)
• James Allen Main (R)
• Kelli Wise (R)
• John M. Patterson (D)
• Aubrey M. Cates, Jr. (D)
• John Paul DeCarlo (D)
• Reneau P. Almon (D)
• Annie Lola Price (D)
• John C. Tyson, III (D)
• John O. Harris (D)

External links

• Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals