HB65 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Jim HillRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Courts, judges, Judicial Resources Allocation Commission, established, membership, duties, authority to increase or decrease judgeships under certain criteria

Summary

HB65 would create a Judicial Resources Allocation Commission to study and adjust the number and location of Alabama judgeships based on workload, population, duties, and other factors.

What This Bill Does

It establishes the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission with a specified mix of judges, attorneys, and legal officials to annually assess the need for more or fewer judges in district and circuit courts and to rank courts accordingly. It requires the Commission to use defined criteria (caseload, population, duties, and case handling consistency) and to report its rankings to the Governor and Legislature. It creates a process for reallocating a vacant judgeship within 30 days (requiring a two-thirds vote and considering fairness and regional constraints), and details how vacancies are filled and how affected judgeships are renumbered and funded. It also sets rules on data updates to caseload factors, open meetings/records, compensation, and the duties of presiding judges, with an immediate effective date.

Who It Affects

• Judicial officers (district and circuit judges) who could be reassigned to different districts or circuits, or face vacancy handling and related term/appointment changes.
• Alabama residents and counties, who may experience changes in where cases are heard, how quickly vacancies are filled, and greater transparency in how court resources are allocated.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission with specific members (Chief Justice as chair, Governor's legal advisor, Attorney General, three circuit judges, three district judges, and three licensed attorneys) and sets term lengths and vacancy rules.
• Requires the Commission to ensure diversity in its membership and to meet at least annually, with decisions made by majority vote and records open to the public.
• Requires annual review of the need for more or fewer judges in each district and circuit using criteria such as the Judicial Weighted Caseload Study, population, judicial duties, uniformity in case accounting, and other relevant information, then ranking courts and reporting to the Governor and Legislature.
• Outlines a 30-day window to consider reallocating a vacancy to another district or circuit after a judge leaves, with a two-thirds vote required for reallocations and safeguards that a county must still have at least one district judge and that large regional shifts do not excessively burden neediest areas.
• Specifies how vacancies are filled if reallocation occurs or does not occur, how the reallocated position is treated for elections, and that funding follows the moved judgeship while remaining positions are renumbered.
• Requires revisions to caseload factors by the Supreme Court, delays reallocations for a three-year data period after revision, and limits losses of judgeships in circuits to no more than one in a two-year period.
• Directs presiding circuit judges to ensure equitable case assignment within circuits and assigns compensation according to existing Alabama law.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Courts