SB239 Alabama 2020 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Rodger SmithermanSenator

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2020

Title

Judiciary, changing judicial case load from weighted to actual, Secs. 12-9A-1, 12-9A-5 am'd.

Summary

SB239 would switch Alabama’s judicial workload study from a weighted caseload method to an actual caseload method for determining needed judges, and set deadlines for adopting and revising the study’s factors.

What This Bill Does

It requires the Alabama Supreme Court to adopt a Judicial Actual Caseload Study to determine how many judges are needed in each district and circuit, replacing the old weighted caseload study. It also establishes deadlines for revising and adopting the study’s factors (revising the old factors by January 1, 2018 and adopting the actual caseload factors by January 1, 2023). Additionally, the bill creates an expanded Judicial Resources Allocation Commission to review needs annually, rank courts, and report findings to the Governor and Legislature; it also sets safeguards on how and when judgeships can be reallocated.

Who It Affects

• Judges and the court system (circuit and district judges, the Supreme Court, and the new Judicial Resources Allocation Commission) who may see changes in how many judgeships exist and how they are allocated, based on the new actual caseload data.
• State government and the legal community (Governor, Legislature, Secretary of State, and bar associations) who receive annual rankings and must oversee and respond to proposed changes, with new reporting and resignation/ballot-related requirements.

Key Provisions

• Terminology change: replace Judicial Weighted Caseload Study with Judicial Actual Caseload Study and revise the study’s factors accordingly.
• Supreme Court duties: by Jan 1, 2018 revise factors in the old study; by Jan 1, 2023 adopt the factors to be used in the Judicial Actual Caseload Study.
• Definition of Judicial Actual Caseload Study: must account for criminal cases by counts, civil cases, probate appeals, the impact on other judges, and any other relevant data.
• Judicial Resources Allocation Commission: composition includes Chief Justice, governor’s legal adviser, Attorney General, three circuit judges, three district judges, and three licensed attorneys; must reflect statewide diversity and meet regularly.
• Annual review and ranking: the commission must annually determine the need for more or fewer judgeships in each district and circuit, rank courts, and send the list to the Governor and Legislature within 30 days.
• Safeguards on reallocations: no judgeship reallocation until three years of data are available after revising factors; no circuit may lose more than one judgeship in a two-year period; resignations must be reported to the Secretary of State; no reallocation after a candidate has qualified to run for office.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 23, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Judiciary