Ala. Code
Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 22-52-15 (2026)

Appeals.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
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An appeal from an order of the probate court granting a petition seeking to commit a respondent to the custody of the department or designated mental health facility as the court may order lies to the circuit court for trial de novo unless the probate judge who granted the petition was learned in the law, in which case the appeal lies to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on the record. Notice of appeal shall be given in writing to the probate judge within five days after the respondent has received actual notice of the granting of the petition and shall be accompanied by security for costs, to be approved by the probate judge, unless the probate judge finds that the respondent is indigent, in which case no security for costs shall be required. Upon the filing of a notice of appeal, the probate judge shall determine and enter an order setting forth the limitations to be placed upon the liberty of the respondent pending the appeal. Upon the filing of a notice of appeal, the probate judge shall certify the record to the clerk of the reviewing court. The petition shall be set for hearing by the reviewing court within 60 days of the date the notice of appeal is filed in the probate court, and such hearing shall not be continued except upon motion in writing by the respondent for good cause. The costs of the proceedings in the reviewing court shall be taxed in the same manner as in the probate court. All requirements relative to hearings in probate court shall apply to appeals heard in the circuit court.

(Acts 1975, No. 1226, p. 2562, §12; Acts 1977, No. 670, p. 1143; Acts 1991, No. 91-440, p. 783, §21.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: In re Commitment Proceeding of Travis, 669 So. 2d 905 (Ala. Civ. App. 1995).
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In re Commitment Proceeding of Travis, 669 So. 2d 905 (Ala. Civ. App. 1995). · cites it 3× “) We find that § 22-52-15, rather than § 12-22-20, governs Travis’s appeal from the probate court to the circuit court.”
Traveka Stanley, Reginald Burrell, Charlie Gray, Jermaine Pringle, & Ranquel Smith v. Kay Ivey, Governor of Alabama, & John Hamm, Comm'r of the Alabama Dep't of Corr., in their Off. capacities (Ala. 2025). “Section § 22-52-15, Ala. Code 1975, provides that an appeal from a judgment involuntarily committing a person to the custody of the Alabama Department of Mental Health must be appealed to the Court of Civil Appeals when "the probate judge who granted the petition was learned in…”
Adams v. State Dep't of Mental Health & Mental Retardation, 617 So. 2d 280 (Ala. Civ. App. 1992). · cites it 2× “Adams appealed pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 22-52-15, contending that the trial court erred by finding that his exposing himself to females created a real and present threat sufficient to justify involuntary inpatient commitment, and that the evidence did not indicate he would…”
Norris v. McQueen, 386 So. 2d 231 (Ala. Civ. App. 1980). “The only issue presented by the appellant is whether § 22-52-15, Code of Ala.1975, denies her equal protection and due process because it prevents her from having a trial by jury via a trial de novo to the circuit court.”
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