Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 12-15-120 (2026)

Cases Initiated by Filing of Petitions by Juvenile Court Intake Officers.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026

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(a) Delinquency, child in need of supervision, and dependency cases and proceedings pursuant to Section 12-15-132 before the juvenile court shall be initiated by the filing of a petition by the juvenile court intake officer who shall receive verified complaints and proceed thereon pursuant to rules of procedure adopted by the Supreme Court of Alabama.

(b) A petition alleging that a child is a delinquent child, dependent child, or a child in need of supervision shall not be filed by a juvenile court intake officer unless the juvenile court intake officer has determined and endorsed upon the petition that the juvenile court has subject matter jurisdiction and venue over the case and that the filing of the petition is in the best interests of the public and the child.

(Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384, §5-114; §12-15-50; amended and renumbered by Act 2008-277, p. 441, §7.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 46 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: T.C. v. Mac. M., 96 So. 3d 123 (Ala. 2012).

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T.C. v. Mac. M., 96 So. 3d 123 (Ala. 2012). · cites it 9× “Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-120. However, a 1982 amendment to Rule 20 of the Rules of Juvenile Procedure provided for the recording of testimony in the juvenile court.”

T.C. v. Mac.M., 96 So. 3d 115 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011). · cites it 9× “Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-120. However, a 1982 amendment to Rule 20 of the Rules of Juvenile Procedure provided for the recording of testimony in the juvenile court.”

Ex Parte Webb, 843 So. 2d 127 (Ala. 2002). · cites it 6× “" Neither this subsection nor any other part of § 12-15-120 governs an appeal from a judgment or an order of a juvenile court to an appellate court.”

M.C. v. L.J.H., 868 So. 2d 465 (Ala. Civ. App. 2003). · cites it 4× “The "Comment to Amendment Effective November 15, 1985” to Rule 28 explains that the purpose of Rule 28 is to reconcile the provisions of Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-120 (and § 12-11-30(3)) with the provisions of § 12-12-72, the two statutes upon which Presiding Judge Yates bases her…”

Sanchez v. McKinney, 87 So. 3d 502 (Ala. 2011). “Code 1975 ("Except as provided in Section 12-12-72 and in subsection (e) of Section 12-15-120, all appeals from final judgments of the district court shall be to the circuit court for trial de novo.”

G.H. v. Cleburne Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 62 So. 3d 540 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010). “The pleadings commencing the dependency cases involving the children were not filed by the father or another family member; rather, they were filed by DHR acting as parens patriae, and they were endorsed by the juvenile-court intake officer, pursuant to § 12-15-120(b), Ala.Code…”

Nue Cheer Franklin v. Woodmere at the Lake., 89 So. 3d 144 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “Code 1975 (“Except as provided in Section 12-12-72 and in subsection (e) of Section 12-15-120, all appeals from final judgments of the district court shall be to the circuit court for trial de novo.”

Hulsey v. State, 866 So. 2d 1180 (Ala. Crim. App. 2003). “"Except as provided in Section 12-12-72 and in subsection (e) of Section 12-15-120, all appeals from final judgments of the district court shall be to the circuit court for trial de novo.”

Crews v. Jackson, 218 So. 3d 368 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016). “We note that it appears that a portion of Crews’s arguments on appeal pertain to orders entered by the district court.”

F.V.O. v. Coffee Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 145 So. 3d 11 (Ala. Civ. App. 2012). “, the legislature, by changing the wording of former § 12-15-120, Ala.Code 1975, when replacing it with current § 12-15-601, did not intend to alter the prior law that only judgments considered “sufficiently final,” 96 So.”

Ray v. State, 435 So. 2d 53 (Ala. 1983). “Section 12-15-120, provides that, upon appeal from the juvenile court, the circuit court shall try the case de novo.”

L.C.S. v. J.N.F., 941 So. 2d 973 (Ala. Civ. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-120(a), provides that an appeal to a circuit court from a judgment of a juvenile court may be taken within 14 days of the entry of the juvenile court’s judgment and that appeals “under this chapter” are to “take precedence over *978 all other business of…”

Show all 46 citing cases →

— Ala. Code § 12-15-120(a) — 7 cases

L.C.S. v. J.N.F., 941 So. 2d 973 (Ala. Civ. App. 2005). “Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-120(a), provides that an appeal to a circuit court from a judgment of a juvenile court may be taken within 14 days of the entry of the juvenile court’s judgment and that appeals “under this chapter” are to “take precedence over *978 all other business of…”

R.D.P. v. State Dep't of Youth Servs., 655 So. 2d 1029 (Ala. Civ. App. 1995).

State v. C.D.M., 727 So. 2d 897 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999).

State v. C.M., 727 So. 2d 898 (Ala. Crim. App. 1999).

Lcs v. Jnf, 941 So. 2d 973 (Ala. Civ. App. 2005).

— Ala. Code § 12-15-120(b) — 2 cases

K.L. v. M.W. (Appeal from Autauga Juv. Court: JU-23-44.01). (Ala. Civ. App. 2024).

— Ala. Code § 12-15-120(d) — 3 cases

Ex Parte Webb, 843 So. 2d 127 (Ala. 2002). “" Neither this subsection nor any other part of § 12-15-120 governs an appeal from a judgment or an order of a juvenile court to an appellate court.”

Carpenter v. State, 395 So. 2d 110 (Ala. Crim. App. 1980).

Tuck v. State, 686 So. 2d 488 (Ala. Crim. App. 1996).

— Ala. Code § 12-15-120(e) — 1 case

Nue Cheer Franklin v. Woodmere at the Lake., 89 So. 3d 144 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011). “Code 1975 (“Except as provided in Section 12-12-72 and in subsection (e) of Section 12-15-120, all appeals from final judgments of the district court shall be to the circuit court for trial de novo.”

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