Hale County Circuit Court Overview
The primary trial court named in the Hale County structure map is the Circuit Court. Hale County sits in Alabama's Fourth Judicial Circuit, and the county court overview says Circuit Court has original jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters not vested exclusively in another court. It also has jurisdiction over felony prosecutions and civil disputes where the amount or damages exceed $10,000. Most Circuit Court cases are heard by juries. The same courthouse also houses District Court and Probate Court functions, but those courts are not interchangeable for search or filing purposes.
The official Hale County court overview and the Hale Fourth Judicial Circuit site place county trial-court access in Greensboro. Circuit Court records are kept by the Circuit Clerk, whose divisions include Civil, Criminal, Domestic, Child Support, Traffic, Juvenile, and Warrants. Circuit Court is the place to look for felony case files, larger civil disputes, divorce case files granted in Hale County, many domestic and child-support matters, circuit-level appeals, and expungement petitions filed under Alabama Title 15, Chapter 27.
Hale County Circuit Court List
Hale County does not publish a long list of numbered circuit courts like some larger states. The researched structure is a Fourth Judicial Circuit court sitting in Hale County, supported by named circuit judges with duty stations in Hale, Perry, and Dallas Counties, plus a local District Court judge and Probate Judge. The dedicated Hale Circuit page is the preferred source for the current circuit-judge roster because the county government page and Hale Circuit page had a judge-name conflict in the research.
| Court / Office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fourth Judicial Circuit Court, Hale County | Felonies, civil disputes over $10,000, jury trials, general jurisdiction not assigned elsewhere | 1001 Main Street, Greensboro, AL 36744 | 334-624-4334 / 334-624-4257 |
| Presiding Circuit Judge Marvin W. Wiggins | Circuit judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit | 1001 Main Street, Greensboro, AL 36744 | 334-624-5620 |
| Circuit Judge Donald L. McMillan | Circuit judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit | P.O. Box 146, 300 Washington St., Suite 202, Marion, AL 36756 | 334-683-2215 |
| Circuit Judge Robert Bryan Jones | Circuit judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit | P.O. Box 1225, 102 Church St., Courthouse Annex, Selma, AL 36702 | 334-874-2510 |
| District Court / Judge Timothy A. Evans | Traffic, misdemeanors, juvenile division, limited civil, small claims | 1001 Main Street, Suite 36, Greensboro, AL 36744 | 334-624-8561 |
| Probate Court / Judge David L. Parker | Wills, estates, guardianships, adoptions, conservatorships, mental commitments, name changes, records and license office | 1001 Main Street, Greensboro, AL 36744 | 334-624-8740 |
| Juvenile Court / Juvenile Probation | District Court division for delinquency, CHINS, and dependency involving children under 18 | 1001 Main St., Room 13, Greensboro, AL 36744 | 334-624-2023 |
| Greensboro Municipal Court | Municipal misdemeanors and city-limit matters noted in warrant instructions | Specific official municipal court address not located | Not located |
Hale County Circuit Court Boundaries
Alabama's local court map does not use a Texas-style county court or justice court model for Hale County. The relevant lower courts in the research are District Court, Municipal Court, and Probate Court. Each has a different custodian and case type. The Circuit Court is the broad trial-court venue, but District Court handles many high-volume matters such as traffic and misdemeanors, Probate Court handles estates and recorded instruments, and Greensboro Municipal Court may handle city-limit misdemeanors under the warrant instructions.
| Circuit Court | District Court | Probate / Municipal Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil role | General civil jurisdiction and disputes where amount or damages exceed $10,000 | Limited civil, small claims, and unlawful-detainer matters within District Court authority | Probate handles estates and records; municipal court address details were not located |
| Criminal role | Felony prosecutions and circuit-level criminal proceedings | Misdemeanors, traffic, initial appearances, and preliminary processes | Municipal misdemeanors inside Greensboro city limits may route municipally unless tied to a felony or extraordinary circumstance |
| Family and juvenile | Domestic and divorce case files, child support, and related circuit matters | Juvenile Court is a District Court division for delinquency, CHINS, and dependency | Probate handles adoption, guardianship, conservatorship, and name changes |
| Record custodian | Circuit Clerk for Circuit Court files | Circuit Clerk for District Court files | Probate Judge/Records Office for probate and recording; municipal details not located |
Hale County Case Flow
A criminal matter can start before the full Circuit Court case file exists. The Magistrates and Warrants page says a complainant first files an incident or offense report with the Sheriff's Department or municipal police department. An officer or investigator generally accompanies the complainant to the Circuit Clerk's Office to see the magistrate, or submits a deposition electronically. The magistrate then reviews probable cause. A served warrant may later connect to a criminal case or docket, while an unserved arrest warrant is not public under the Hale warrant instructions.
Criminal flow: Report or citation › Magistrate or District Court process › Charges filed › Arraignment › Pretrial settings › Plea or trial › Disposition and sentence › Appeal.
Civil flow: Complaint or petition filed › Service and answer › Motions or settings › Hearing, mediation, or trial › Order or judgment › Collection, post-judgment action, or appeal.
Unlawful detainers show how the court levels can overlap. The research states that District Court and Circuit Court have concurrent jurisdiction for unlawful detainers, but injunctive relief must be filed in Circuit Court. That kind of boundary is why case type matters before choosing a search path or filing counter.
Hale County Court Divisions
The Circuit Clerk's division list gives a practical map of the trial-court records most users encounter: Civil, Criminal, Domestic, Child Support, Traffic, Juvenile, and Warrants. Civil files may include complaints, answers, motions, judgments, garnishments, liens, and appeals. Criminal files may include complaints, warrant returns, indictments or informations, bond entries, arraignment records, pleas, motions, orders, dispositions, sentences, restitution, probation terms, fine ledgers, and appeal notices. Domestic and child-support files may include divorce complaints, settlement agreements, custody orders, contempt motions, and child-support orders.
Traffic and juvenile records have tighter boundaries. Hale's traffic page says citations from state troopers and county sheriff's deputies are scheduled for District Court at the courthouse, with some charges requiring appearance. Juvenile Court is a District Court division for delinquency, CHINS, and dependency involving children under 18. Juvenile records are confidential under Ala. Code § 12-15-133, so a public case search should not be expected to reveal full juvenile files.
Public access also depends on status. Alabama's public-writings statute, Ala. Code § 36-12-40, supports access to public writings, but sealed, expunged, juvenile, adoption, mental-commitment, protected personal-identifier, and unserved-warrant materials are restricted. Expungement petitions for qualifying criminal records generally route through Circuit Court under Title 15, Chapter 27.
Fourth Judicial Circuit Judges
Hale County is part of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. The dedicated Hale Circuit judges page lists Presiding Circuit Judge Marvin W. Wiggins in Greensboro, Circuit Judge Donald L. McMillan in Marion, and Circuit Judge Robert Bryan Jones in Selma. The county government court page also listed Hon. Don McMillan, Hon. Collins Pettaway Jr., and Hon. Marvin Wiggins, creating a source conflict. For current page copy, the dedicated Hale Circuit judges page is the safer source because it is the circuit-specific court roster.
The shared circuit structure means that not every circuit judge office address is in Hale County even when a Hale County case is part of the Fourth Judicial Circuit. Court records for Hale County cases still route through the Hale County Circuit Clerk and the county's Alacourt access channels. When a docket, notice, or order names a judge with a Perry or Dallas County duty station, that does not mean the Hale County record custodian changed.
Hale County Lower Courts
District Court is the lower trial court most often tied to traffic, misdemeanors, juvenile division matters, and limited civil work. The District Judge page names Honorable Timothy A. Evans at the courthouse suite listed for District Court. The Juvenile page directs delinquency, CHINS, and dependency cases to Juvenile Probation Officer Brandon Croom. The Traffic Court page gives detailed payment, continuance, and failure-to-appear instructions for citations heard in Hale County District Court.
Magistrate work is central to warrant access. The official Magistrates and Warrants page says Hale County magistrates must be neutral and detached from law enforcement and must exercise independent judgment. Their jurisdiction includes misdemeanors outside Greensboro city limits, felonies occurring in Hale County, traffic offenses occurring in Hale County, and worthless checks received in Hale County. Misdemeanor charges inside Greensboro city limits must be handled through Greensboro Municipal Court unless a felony is tied to the same incident or extraordinary circumstances apply.
Probate Court is not a lower criminal court. It is administered by Probate Judge David L. Parker and handles wills, estates, adoptions, guardianships, conservatorships, involuntary mental commitments, name changes, eminent domain, and certain contested elections. The Probate Judge also oversees the Records Office and License Office, so land records and marriage certificate recording use a separate access path from Circuit Court cases.