Alabama 12th Judicial Circuit

Circuit Court

Alabama Circuit 12

Circuit 12 in Alabama consists of Coffee and Pike counties.

Judges

• Shannon R. Clark
• Thomas E. Head, III
• Jeffery W. Kelley

See also

• Alabama counties
• Alabama Circuit Courts

External links

• Alabama's Judicial Circuits (Map)

Alabama courts

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Federal courts:

Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Northern District of Alabama, Middle District of Alabama, Southern District of Alabama

State courts:

Alabama Supreme Court • Alabama Court of Civil Appeals • Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals • Alabama Circuit Courts • Alabama District Courts • Alabama Juvenile Courts • Alabama Municipal Courts • Alabama Probate Courts • Alabama Small Claims Courts

State resources:

Courts in Alabama • Alabama judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alabama

Elections

See also: Alabama judicial elections

Alabama is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Alabama, click here.

• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2025
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2024
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2023
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2022
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2021
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2020
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2019
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2018
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2017
• Alabama local trial court judicial elections, 2016
• Alabama judicial elections, 2014
• Alabama judicial elections, 2012
• Alabama judicial elections, 2010

Selection method

See also: Partisan elections

There are 144 judges on the Alabama Circuit Courts, each elected to six-year terms. They appear on partisan election ballots statewide and must face re-election if they wish to serve again. The chief judge of a circuit court is selected by peer vote and serves a three-year term.

Only voters residing in a particular circuit may vote for the circuit judge of that region.

Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law for at least five years;
• a resident of his or her circuit for at least one year;
• under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)

Election rules

Primary election

Candidates for judge or justice who wish to run on a party ticket must qualify to run in an open primary by obtaining the legally required number of signatures to get on the ballot. Primary elections in years without a presidential primary are held on the first Tuesday in June. Candidates can only qualify for one party. The winners from each party proceed to a general election in November.

If no candidate in a race wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff determines who will advance to the general election. The top two vote recipients in the primary advance to the runoff. Primary runoffs are held six weeks after the primary election.

If a candidate qualifies on a party ticket and is unopposed, their name is not placed on the primary ticket, but instead is placed automatically on the general election ballot. Political parties can make rules restricting who participates in primaries, and residents can only vote in a single party's primary.

General election

Alabama general elections are held on the first Tuesday in November of every even-numbered year. If a victory margin is within 0.5 percent, an automatic recount will take place unless the defeated candidate waives his or her right to the recount.