Mobile County District Court Overview
Mobile County is the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama. Within that local state-court system, District Court handles district criminal and traffic matters, district civil cases, small claims, unlawful detainers, and preliminary or lower-level proceedings assigned by Alabama law. Circuit Court is the general-jurisdiction court for felonies, domestic relations, equitable cases, larger civil matters, and appeals from lower courts. The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit site links both levels and their divisions.
Circuit Clerk Ashleigh Long is the official record keeper for both District and Circuit Court proceedings. That unified clerk structure does not merge the courts' jurisdiction. A searcher still must choose District Criminal, District Civil and Small Claims, Circuit Criminal, Circuit Civil, or Domestic Relations. Government Plaza houses these functions in downtown Mobile. Sheriff Paul Burch and the Mobile County Sheriff's Office handle jail, warrant, service, and enforcement functions, but court pleadings and orders remain with the clerk.
Mobile County District Court Divisions
Mobile County does not publish District Court as a series of numbered courts in the research. It identifies judges and operating divisions instead. The complete build-safe list below follows that local structure without inventing court numbers. District Criminal and District Civil and Small Claims are the two main public-facing District Court record divisions.
| Court or division | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| District Criminal | Criminal and traffic | 205 Government Street, Room 338, North Tower | (251) 574-8511 |
| District Civil and Small Claims | Civil, small claims, unlawful detainer | Government Plaza, 205 Government Street | (251) 574-8525 |
| District Court appearances | Criminal and traffic courtrooms | 205 Government Street, North Tower, 4th Floor | (251) 574-8511 |
| Thirteenth Judicial Circuit | Main state court complex | 205 Government Street, Suite 913 | (251) 574-8806 |
The official District Court judges page lists Jennifer Wright, Johana A. Bucci, Linda Jensen, Deborah McGowin, Charles Moore, and George M. Zoghby. Judge assignments and calendars may change, so use the official court page and clerk contact when a particular courtroom or judge must be confirmed.
District vs Circuit vs Municipal
Alabama does not use the County Court and Justice of the Peace comparison shown in some states. Mobile County's useful local comparison is District Court, Circuit Court, and City of Mobile Municipal Court, with Probate Court as a separate specialty court. The record search must follow the court that heard the matter.
| District Court | Circuit Court | Municipal Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil scope | District civil and small claims through the confirmed $20,000 fee bracket; unlawful detainers | Higher-value civil, equity, real property, workers' compensation, and appeals | Not the general civil trial court |
| Criminal scope | District criminal, preliminary and lower-level matters, traffic | Felony cases and postconviction proceedings | City-limit misdemeanors, ordinances, and municipal traffic |
| Family scope | Limited; juvenile system is separate | Domestic Relations handles divorce, custody, and support | Not the domestic-relations court |
| Record custodian | Circuit Clerk | Circuit Clerk | City of Mobile Municipal Court |
Probate Court remains outside all three columns for wills, estates, guardianships, marriage recording, land records, election records, and archives. A single Mobile County court search cannot reliably cover every venue.
The division line also affects enforcement. An eviction begins as a District Court matter. Only after the case is complete and the Circuit Clerk issues a writ of restitution can the Mobile County Sheriff's Office conduct a set-out. The deputy checks that the property address matches the writ. That sequence keeps the civil complaint, judgment, and writ in the District Court record even though Sheriff Paul Burch's office performs the final court-ordered act. A sheriff activity log or civil-process question does not replace the official case file.
Mobile County District Case Flow
A criminal matter may begin with an arrest, complaint, warrant, or citation. District Court can conduct lower-level proceedings, traffic cases, and preliminary felony work before a felony moves into Circuit Court. A municipal misdemeanor begins in City of Mobile Municipal Court when the event falls within city jurisdiction. Appeals from a lower court may move to Circuit Court, then through Alabama's appellate system based on case type.
State criminal flow: Arrest or citation › First appearance › District proceedings › District disposition or Circuit Court transfer › Trial or plea › Sentence › Appeal
District civil flow: Complaint filed › Service › Answer or default › Motions or hearing › Judgment › Enforcement or appeal
A docket shows scheduled and recorded events, not every fact about the case. Use the free county 02 docket for setting dates, then the clerk or Just One Look when the full public case record is needed.
Mobile County District Divisions
District Civil and Small Claims handles civil filings in the researched fee brackets, small claims, unlawful detainers, garnishments, executions, subpoenas, appeals, copies, certifications, and record searches. The division's direct number is 251-574-8525, and the official page lists cash, money order, or cashier's check for prepaid court costs. It does not accept personal checks. A computerized search, paper search, or archived search has a different confirmed charge.
Confirmed filing brackets are tied to the amount and number of defendants. A one-defendant case costs $61.00 through $1,500, $135.00 from $1,500.01 through $3,000, $224.00 from $3,000.01 through $6,000, and $256.00 from $6,000.01 through $20,000. Unlawful detainer is also listed at $256.00. Garnishment and execution for property are $30.00 each, while subpoenas are $12.00. These figures help identify the correct division, but the clerk should confirm the total because service, added parties, or another action may affect what must be prepaid.
District Criminal handles lower-level criminal matters and traffic citations. Its office is Room 338 in Government Plaza's North Tower, while criminal and traffic appearances are listed on the fourth floor. Traffic begins at 8:00 am and criminal cases at 8:30 am. Office hours run 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, but the payment window closes at 4:30 pm. Mail payments must be cashier's checks or money orders, with no personal checks.
Family jurisdiction is chiefly associated with Circuit Court Domestic Relations and the separate Youth Center system. Juvenile records carry special confidentiality rules. Do not assume that a family or juvenile file is open merely because other District Court dockets are public.
Mobile County Thirteenth Circuit
The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit consists of Mobile County's state courts. The official Circuit Court judges list names S. Wesley Pipes as Presiding Judge, along with Ben H. Brooks, Vicki M. Davis, Brandy Hambright, Walter H. Honeycutt, Edmond G. Naman, Jill P. Phillips, Michael P. Windom, Jay A. York, and Michael A. Youngpeter. These are Circuit Court judges, not the six judges on the District Court list. The distinction matters when reading a docket or asking which division owns a file.
Alabama civil appeals, criminal appeals, and higher review route to the Court of Civil Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals, or Supreme Court of Alabama depending on case type. The trial-court clerk can provide the official record, but cannot advise a party how to appeal.
Municipal and Probate Courts
Mobile Municipal Court handles misdemeanors within city limits, ordinance cases, municipal traffic matters, bond hearings, and delinquency dockets. It sits on the second floor of Government Plaza's North Tower and maintains separate case search, document request, docket, and payment channels. A municipal appeal can proceed to Circuit Court. Parking tickets are not within Municipal Court jurisdiction.
Mobile County Probate Court handles wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, marriage records, recording, elections, and historic archives. Its search system is Landmark WEB, not the District Court docket. Juvenile matters route through the Youth Center and are restricted. This local structure has no general Justice of the Peace court tier, so a District Court user should not search for a nonexistent Mobile County JP file.
The manifest-assigned CourtListener research service can help locate some opinions and public legal materials, but it is secondary research rather than the official Mobile County District Court record.
Verify any useful result against the Circuit Clerk, official docket, or Alabama court system before relying on it as the case record.
Mobile County District Records
The public Alacourt docket for county 02 searches by setting date and optional last name. Leaving the name blank returns the entire docket for the chosen setting date. The page warns that some cases may not appear electronically and directs users to the clerk when in doubt. Just One Look provides broader on-demand Alabama trial-court access with required fees. AlaFile is for electronic filing, while AlaPay and the state traffic portal handle eligible payments.
| District service | Confirmed fee |
|---|---|
| Copies, 1-20 pages | $5.00 |
| Each additional page | $0.50 |
| Certification | $5.00 |
| Computerized records search | $10.00 |
| Paper records search | $20.00 |
| Archived or microfilmed search | $25.00 |
Take written case details into the courthouse because cell phones have been prohibited since June 10, 2024. Call the proper division before a visit when a certified copy, an archived record, or a same-day court appearance is involved.