(a) The duties of the clerks of the circuit court include all of the following:
(1) To sign and issue all summons, subpoenas, writs, executions, and other processes, under the authority of the court.
(2) To keep a consolidated docket sheet of civil and criminal cases, the names of the parties, the character of action or offense, the names of the attorneys and the sheriff’s return, which shall be entered in all civil and criminal cases standing for trial, in the order in which they are brought, and the bench notes, orders, rulings on motions and pleadings, other preliminary matters and final judgment which have been made in each case by the judge, which shall be the official minutes.
(3) To keep all papers, books, dockets, and records belonging to their office with care and security, with the papers filed, arranged, numbered, and labeled, so as to be of easy reference, and the books, dockets and records properly lettered. Parties shall be allowed to inspect the records free of charge.
(4) To make out and deliver, on application and payment of the legal fees therefor, to any person applying for the same, a correct transcript, properly certified, of any paper or record in their offices.
(5) To exercise such duties as are, or may be, conferred upon them by law, including administrative rules promulgated by order of the Supreme Court of Alabama.
(6) To monitor compliance with court orders issued by a state court which assess court costs, fines, and other related court-ordered money against criminal defendants and to utilize accounts receivable systems and other procedures, including notice processes, to ensure payment of court-ordered money.
(b) Any clerk of any circuit court who fails to perform any duty imposed on him or her, for the failure to perform which no other punishment is provided, shall, on conviction, be fined not exceeding $200.00.
(Code 1852, §§650, 653; Code 1867, §§767, 773; Code 1876, §§671, 4159; Code 1886, §§768, 3950; Code 1896, §§934, 5146; Code 1907, §§3272, 7464; Code 1923, §§5056, 6724; Code 1940, T. 13, §§198, 203; Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384; Acts 1994, No. 94-698, p. 1352, §1.)
Notes of Decisions
ALLSTATE INS., Co. v. Coastal Yacht Servs., Inc., 823 So. 2d 632 (Ala. 2001).
“Likewise, § 12-17-94 and § 12-17-161, Ala.Code 1975, establishing the duties of circuit clerks and district clerks respectively, constitute the clerks' offices as the proper sites for such monitoring.”
Harris v. MedStar, Inc., 790 So. 2d 256 (Ala. 2001).
“Likewise, § 12-17-94 and § 12-17-161, Ala. Code 1975, establishing the duties of circuit clerks and district clerks respectively, constitute the clerks' offices as the proper sites for such monitoring.”
Johnson v. Anderton (N.D. Ala. 2021).
· cites it 6× “Johnson objects to the dismissal of his claims against Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Smith on the ground that the magistrate judge should have found that Smith violated Alabama Code § 12-17-94(a)(2)–(3)1 by failing to notify Judges 1 Ala. Code § 12-17-94 (a)(2)–(3) provides the…”
In re: Steve Williams v. Calhoun Cnty. Comm'n & Kim McCarson (Ala. 2026).
· cites it 4× “According to McCarson, § 12-17-5 "abolished the … distinction" between discretionary and ministerial acts "and replaced it with a functional analysis that looks only to whether the circuit clerk's actions 'aris[e] from the execution of the duties' provided by the statute," which…”
Colburn v. Odom (N.D. Ala. 2019).
· cites it 2× “” The second provision, Alabama Code § 12-17-94, establishes the duties of circuit court clerks.”
Dean v. Bryan (INMATE 2) (M.D. Ala. 2020).
· cites it 2× “Under Alabama law, state court circuit clerks have the authority to “sign and issue all summons, subpoenas, writs, executions, and other processes, under the authority of the court.”
Ex parte Thomas, 215 So. 3d 536 (Ala. 2015).
“See § 12-17-94(a)(3), Ala.Code 1975; § 12-19-70, Ala.”
Crews v. State, 797 So. 2d 1123 (Ala. Crim. App. 2000).
· cites it 2× “13, § 198 [the precursor to § 12-17-94]."). Alabama courts take judicial notice of Alabama statutory *1126 law.”
Ala. Code § 12-17-94(a): 1 case
In re: Steve Williams v. Calhoun Cnty. Comm'n & Kim McCarson (Ala. 2026).
“According to McCarson, § 12-17-5 "abolished the … distinction" between discretionary and ministerial acts "and replaced it with a functional analysis that looks only to whether the circuit clerk's actions 'aris[e] from the execution of the duties' provided by the statute," which…”
Ala. Code § 12-17-94(a)(1): 1 case
In re: Steve Williams v. Calhoun Cnty. Comm'n & Kim McCarson (Ala. 2026).
“According to McCarson, § 12-17-5 "abolished the … distinction" between discretionary and ministerial acts "and replaced it with a functional analysis that looks only to whether the circuit clerk's actions 'aris[e] from the execution of the duties' provided by the statute," which…”
Ala. Code § 12-17-94(a)(2): 1 case
Johnson v. Anderton (N.D. Ala. 2021).
“Johnson objects to the dismissal of his claims against Jefferson County Circuit Clerk Smith on the ground that the magistrate judge should have found that Smith violated Alabama Code § 12-17-94(a)(2)–(3)1 by failing to notify Judges 1 Ala. Code § 12-17-94 (a)(2)–(3) provides the…”
Ala. Code § 12-17-94(a)(3): 2 cases
Ex parte Thomas, 215 So. 3d 536 (Ala. 2015).
“See § 12-17-94(a)(3), Ala.Code 1975; § 12-19-70, Ala.”
Crews v. State, 797 So. 2d 1123 (Ala. Crim. App. 2000).
“13, § 198 [the precursor to § 12-17-94]."). Alabama courts take judicial notice of Alabama statutory *1126 law.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.