Section 12-12-1
Establishment, designation, etc.; location of sessions of district courts; abolition of courts not authorized by Constitution.
(a) The district court of Alabama, a trial court of limited jurisdiction, is created and established, effective January 16, 1977, and shall be subdivided according to districts and styled the district court of the county. Persons elected or appointed to a district court judgeship must have been admitted to practice law in this state a combined total of four years or more, or admitted to practice law by any other state for a combined total of four years or more, prior to beginning a term of office or appointment to serve a vacant term of office. In addition, the person must not have received from any state or state bar association a suspension or disbarment within the 10 years preceding election or appointment.
(b) Sessions of the district court shall be held in each county seat, each municipality containing a population of 1,000 or more where no municipal court exists, to be restricted to municipal cases, and at other locations within counties in which geographical venue, as described in Section 12-12-36, lies in more than one place.
(c)(1) All courts which are not authorized by Article 6 of the Constitution shall retain their power through January 15, 1977, at which time they shall be abolished. Judgments of courts which cease to exist at the end of that day shall continue in effect, and the courts of the unified system are vested with jurisdiction to enforce such judgments.
(2) All cases then pending in courts which cease to exist shall be transferred to the appropriate district or circuit court. Cases which could be filed in district court under the provisions of this chapter shall be transferred to the district court; provided, that any case containing a demand for a jury trial filed before January 15, 1977, which could have been granted in the court where filed, shall be transferred to the appropriate circuit court.
(Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384, §4-101; Act 2009-562, p. 1632, §1; Act 2019-539, §1.)