(a) In all juvenile, traffic, criminal, and quasi-criminal cases in the juvenile, district, circuit, and municipal courts in the Birmingham Division and the Bessemer Division of Jefferson County, a docket fee, hereinafter referred to as a solicitor’s fee, shall be assessed in each case. The fees, when collected, shall be distributed monthly as follows: Three dollars ($3) from each case to the circuit clerk to be deposited into the circuit clerk’s fund or, if the case originates in the municipal court, three dollars ($3) to the municipal court clerk to be deposited into the municipal clerk’s fund or the fund otherwise established for the operation of the office of the municipal court, to be used as provided by law for the operation of the office of the circuit court clerk or municipal court clerk as the case may be and the remainder of each fee to the Solicitor’s Fund or District Attorney’s Fund in the division of the county where the case originated or to the fund in each division that may be hereafter prescribed by law for the solicitor’s fee. The solicitor’s fee shall be in an amount not less than an amount equal to all docket fees or court costs which are assessed upon an adjudication of guilt in a criminal case and distributed to the Fair Trial Tax Fund. In no event shall the solicitor’s fee be less than an amount equal to the Fair Trial Tax Fund docket fee which are prescribed for an adjudication or finding of guilt of the criminal offense charged.
Terms Used In Alabama Code 45-37-81.04
Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) The solicitor’s fee shall be collected in all criminal cases where the defendant is adjudged guilty, a bond forfeited, a penalty imposed, or where there is issued any alias or capias warrant of arrest. The solicitor’s fee shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other fees or costs. The solicitor’s fee shall not be waived or remitted unless the defendant proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the sentencing judge that the defendant is not capable of paying the fee within the reasonably foreseeable future.(c) The solicitor’s fee may be expended by the district attorney of the division of the county where the fee is collected for the payment of any and all expenses incurred or for any legitimate law enforcement purpose.
