How to Find a Jefferson County Court Docket
The Tenth Judicial Circuit publishes its docket tool on the Find My Courtroom page. The page embeds the state docket list at olis-docketlist.azurewebsites.net with the county parameter set to 01 for Jefferson. From the embedded view you can search by judge or date, filter by court, and see the courtroom number where a case is set.
For a full case file, jump to Jefferson County court records. Dockets show what is set for a given day. Case records show the filings, motions, orders, and disposition.
The page header carries a warning that court dates change often and that judge-issued paperwork controls if it conflicts with the website.
- Open Find My Courtroom and let the embedded docket list load.
- Pick the judge, case number, or date you need.
- Note the courtroom number and time. Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center rooms are 4xx through 8xx; civil rooms sit in the main courthouse.
- Cross-check the date against any summons, order, or notice the court mailed you.
- If no hearing is listed for a judge, rely on what the court paperwork tells you.
The Jefferson County Docket Disclaimer
The Find My Courtroom page is unusually clear about what it is and is not. The page says the contents are informational only. It says users should check back often because schedules turn over with each judge's calendar and case load. Most important, it says that when the website conflicts with court documents, the court documents control. That language is on the official page; it is not site editorial.
Practically, that means a printed notice from the court, a summons, an order, or a direct judge instruction beats whatever the docket shows. If the website lists no hearing for your judge that day, do not assume the case is off the calendar. Call the judge's staff or the Circuit Clerk to confirm.
Note: The local docket warning is firm: court dates change often; rely on what the judge gave you directly when the website and the paperwork do not match.
Jefferson County Judge Schedules
The Tenth Judicial Circuit posts the full judge roster in seven groups: circuit civil, circuit criminal, circuit domestic relations, circuit family court, district civil, district criminal, and district family court. Each list page links the judge name and the assigned division.
Honorable Elisabeth A. French serves as Presiding Circuit Judge for the civil division. Honorable Michael Streety is the Presiding Circuit Criminal Judge. Honorable Patricia Stephens is the Presiding Domestic Relations Judge. Honorable Janine Hunt-Hilliard is the Presiding Circuit Family Court Judge. District court has Honorable Debra Weston-Pickens as presiding civil judge and Honorable William A. Bell as presiding criminal judge.
| Division | Judge List |
|---|---|
| Circuit Civil | Circuit civil judges |
| Circuit Criminal | Circuit criminal judges |
| Circuit Domestic Relations | Domestic relations judges |
| Circuit Family Court | Circuit family court judges |
| District Civil | District civil judges |
| District Criminal | District criminal judges |
| District Family Court | District family court judges |
Jefferson County Courtroom Assignments
Different case types meet in different buildings. Civil and domestic cases usually sit at the main Jefferson County Courthouse at 716 Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North. Criminal cases mostly run from the Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center at 801 Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North; for example, Judge Tiara Hudson hears criminal matters in Room 605, and Judge Kandice Pickett uses Room 406. District criminal Judge Tanita Cain sits in CJC Room 805 with phone (205) 325-5296.
Family Court sits in its own building at 120 2nd Court North, Birmingham. Bessemer Cutoff matters move to the Bessemer courthouse complex with its own Circuit Clerk site. The Find My Courtroom embedded list shows the assigned room with the hearing entry. Always confirm the room number before you head to the building.
The embedded view uses the county=01 URL parameter and supports judge and case filtering inside the iframe.
How Jefferson County Dockets Change
Court schedules shift for many reasons. A judge may move a hearing to handle a longer trial. Cases settle and drop off the calendar. Continuances push events to later dates. Weather, holiday closures, and administrative orders also change court days. The local page says to check back often because no single update window applies to every court.
If a date moves and you miss the new one, the Sheriff's Warrant Detail page lists failure to appear as one of the warrant types it serves. That makes confirmation of every hearing date important. If you are unsure, call the judge's staff before the date or the Circuit Clerk at (205) 325-5355.
Traffic Court Dockets in Jefferson County
Traffic cases have their own set of pages on the Tenth Judicial Circuit site. The main entry is the Traffic Court page with payment instructions. Costs sit on the traffic court costs page, ticket processing on the ticket processing page, and the Online Traffic Resolution page links the OTR portal.
For statewide traffic payments where eligible, the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts runs traffic.alacourt.gov. Defensive driving school details are on a separate local page. Some citations are not eligible for online resolution and must be set on a court docket.
Alacourt vs. Find My Courtroom
Alacourt ACCESS and Find My Courtroom solve different problems. Alacourt covers the full state trial court case file: parties, charges, motions, orders, and disposition. Access requires an account, and full reports are pay-per-report. Find My Courtroom is the local hearing tool: today's setting, tomorrow's setting, the judge, and the room number. It is free and public.
Use Find My Courtroom to make a hearing. Use Alacourt to read the case. If you need a certified copy of a docket entry or an order, request it from the Circuit Clerk or court records office. Federal cases are not in either system; those run through PACER.
| Tool | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Find My Courtroom | Hearing date, room, judge | Free |
| Alacourt ACCESS | Full case file, party history | Account / per-report |
| Circuit Clerk office | Certified copies, paper file pull | Per-page fee |
What to Do If No Hearing Appears
If your judge shows no hearings for the date on Find My Courtroom, the local page gives one answer: rely on the information from that court. Call the judge's office, the Circuit Clerk, or your attorney. Do not assume the case is dropped or moved. Settings can fail to load on the public iframe even when the internal docket is correct.
Note: A missed court date can lead to a failure-to-appear warrant, bond forfeiture, or extra court costs depending on case type. If you suspect a date passed without notice, contact the issuing court immediately and call the right warrant division.
What a Jefferson County Docket Entry Shows
A docket is a date-keyed log of events in a case. Each entry is short: who filed what, when the judge ruled on it, and what the next step is. A Jefferson County hearing entry on the embedded docket usually shows the case number, party name, judge, hearing type, room, and time. It does not show the full filings, the motion text, or the order itself.
If you need the order or motion text behind a docket entry, the full file lives in Alacourt ACCESS or at the Circuit Clerk's office. Some docket entries are short codes that take practice to read; common ones include MOT for motion, ORD for order, HRG for hearing, CONT for continuance, and DISP for disposition.
- MOT - a motion has been filed.
- ORD - the judge has signed an order.
- HRG - a hearing is set or completed.
- CONT - the case has been continued to a new date.
- DISP - a final or interim disposition has been entered.