(a) All writs of arrest, with the undertaking of bail when given, must be returned by the sheriff to the clerk of the court from which they were issued, with the proper return thereon endorsed.
Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-10-47
Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
(b) If the writ of arrest is executed, the return must be made within five days after service; but if executed out of the county in which the indictment was found, the return may be made by depositing the writ in the post office within five days after service in a sealed envelope, postage prepaid, directed to the clerk of the court at the courthouse of his county, with the title of the case and the character of the process endorsed on the envelope.(c) When any writ of arrest is not executed, it must be returned by the sheriff to the clerk of the court from which it was issued; and when the return is made by the sheriff of any other county than that in which the indictment was found, it may be made by mail, as prescribed by subsection (b) of this section.(d) The clerk of the court must take from the post office all packages addressed to him which are endorsed according to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, and the expense of the same must be paid by the county.(e) Any sheriff who fails to comply with the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of this section may be compelled to make the return by attachment and also forfeits to the state, for the use of the county, $50.00, which may be recovered with costs against him and his sureties, or any of them, having three days’ notice thereof by motion in the court in which the indictment was found. On the trial of such motion, the certificate of the postmaster is presumptive evidence of the deposit of the writ of arrest, the superscription and endorsement on the envelope.
