(a) This section shall apply only to the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Alabama, including the Bessemer Division thereof.

Terms Used In Alabama Code 45-37-80.40

  • Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
  • circuit: means judicial circuit. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
(b) If a defendant in a criminal case pending in a court of competent jurisdiction shall enter a written plea of not guilty at any time prior to the day of his or her arraignment such plea shall constitute a waiver of his or her right to have an arraignment at which he or she is present in person or at which he or she is represented by an attorney.
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