Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 15-11-1 (2026)
Right of Person Arrested for Felony to Hearing; Failure of Defendant to Appear at Hearing.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
Every person charged with and arrested for a felony before his indictment shall have an absolute right to a preliminary hearing on said charge upon such person’s demand within 30 days following said arrest; provided, that such person’s failure or refusal to appear for such preliminary hearing or his absence from the state at the time of the setting for the preliminary hearing shall not delay or invalidate an indictment pursuant to said charge.
(Acts 1975, No. 1205, §4-106.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15
cases, 1979–2014 · leading case: Nobis v. State, 401 So. 2d 191 (Ala. Crim. App. 1981).
Nobis v. State, 401 So. 2d 191 (Ala. Crim. App. 1981). “On November 2, appellant filed a motion to change the date of the preliminary hearing, requesting that, pursuant to Alabama Code § 15-11-1 (1975), the preliminary hearing be held within thirty days of appellant's arrest; it was anticipated in this motion that the Madison County…”
Ex Parte Copeland, 455 So. 2d 956 (Ala. 1984). “BEATTY, Justice (concurring specially): While I concur in the denial of this writ, I wish to point out that the cases [1] concerning a defendant's right to a preliminary hearing under § 15-11-1, Code of 1975, [2] including the present case, have all failed to analyze § 15-11-1…”
Duncan v. State, 369 So. 2d 885 (Ala. Crim. App. 1979). “He claims that § 15-11-1, Code of Ala.1975, gives him an absolute right to a preliminary hearing.”
Brown v. State, 392 So. 2d 1248 (Ala. Crim. App. 1980). “Appellant contends that the trial court improperly overruled his motion to quash the indictment on the grounds that he had been denied an absolute right to a preliminary hearing under § 15-11-1 Code of Alabama 1975 and had been denied his right to a speedy trial.”
Tammy D. Scarbrough, Carol C. Davis v. Bryant Myles, Jr., Chuck Hall, 245 F.3d 1299 (11th Cir. 2001). “1992); Ala. Code § 15-11-1 ; see Ex Parte Wood, 629 So.”
Wynn v. State, 423 So. 2d 294 (Ala. Crim. App. 1982). “These stipulations should be construed in the furtherance of justice. They should not be given a narrow, strict, or technical construction, but should be given a fair and liberal one, so as to carry out the apparent intention of the parties and permit a fair trial on the merits.”
Williams v. State, 383 So. 2d 547 (Ala. Crim. App. 1979). “XVI The defendant was indicted and tried before the effective date of Alabama Code Section 15-11-1 (1975). Consequently he was not entitled to a preliminary hearing as a matter of right.”
Spratt v. State, 833 So. 2d 662 (Ala. Crim. App. 2001). “Constitutionally, a preliminary hearing is not necessary to satisfy the requirements of due process, and the fact that there was no preliminary hearing in cases prior to the enactment of the statute in question [§ 15-11-1] has had no bearing on the validity of an indictment or…”
Eller v. State, 187 So. 3d 1184 (Ala. Crim. App. 2014). “In his petition, Eller alleged: (1) That his trial counsel was ineffective for: (a)not timely moving for a preliminary hearing within 30 days of his arrest as required by § 15-11-1, Ala. Code 1976, and Rule 5, Ála.”
Callens v. State, 471 So. 2d 482 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985). “III Appellant next contends that his due process rights were violated in that he had no preliminary hearing.”
McKinley v. State, 441 So. 2d 1040 (Ala. Crim. App. 1983). “APPELL: But Statute 15-11-1 [Code of Alabama 1975 § 15-11-1], I think, says on timely demand a preliminary hearing shall be given.”
Tammy D. Scarbrough v. Bryant Myles, Jr. (11th Cir. 2001). “Police officers have the same absolute immunity as lay witnesses in testifying at trial or before a grand jury.”
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.