Houston County Circuit Court Overview
Houston County is in Alabama's Twentieth Judicial Circuit with Henry County. Circuit Court is the primary trial court of general jurisdiction. It handles felony prosecutions, major civil cases, domestic relations matters, and appeals from limited-jurisdiction courts when Alabama law allows. The Circuit Clerk at 114 North Oates Street is the local record office for circuit and district court case files.
Houston County District Court is still important because it handles small claims, district civil, state traffic, misdemeanors, preliminary criminal matters, and juvenile matters. Probate Court is separate and handles estates, guardianships, conservatorships, adoptions, name changes, involuntary commitments, and related probate-office records. Municipal courts handle many city traffic, ordinance, and misdemeanor matters.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama is separate from Houston County Circuit Court.
Federal court material helps users avoid confusing the nearby Dothan federal courthouse with county trial court records.
Houston County Circuit Court Judges
Houston County circuit judges are listed with the courthouse address at 114 North Oates Street and mailing through P.O. Drawer 6406. District judges are included here because they are part of the same local trial court structure and handle the limited-jurisdiction matters that often feed appeals or related records.
| Court | Judge | Role | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Hon. M. John Steensland, III | Presiding Circuit Judge | (334) 677-4889 |
| Circuit Court | Hon. Henry "Butch" D. Binford | Circuit Judge | (334) 677-4845 |
| Circuit Court | Hon. R. Todd Derrick | Circuit Judge | (334) 677-4881 |
| Circuit Court | Hon. J. Kevin Moulton | Circuit Judge | (334) 677-4854 |
| Circuit Court | Hon. Christopher K. Richardson | Circuit Judge | (334) 671-8761 |
| District Court | Hon. Bart M. Boothe | District Judge and Presiding Juvenile Judge | (334) 677-4890 |
| District Court | Hon. Benjamin H. Lewis | District Judge | (334) 677-4857 |
| Probate Court | Hon. Patrick H. Davenport | Probate Judge | (334) 677-4701 |
Circuit Court vs District Court
Choosing the right Houston County court prevents wasted searches. Circuit Court, District Court, Probate Court, and Municipal Court all sit in the local record picture, but each handles different work.
| Topic | Circuit Court | District Court | Municipal or Probate Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal | Felony and serious criminal cases. | Misdemeanors and preliminary criminal matters. | Municipal misdemeanors inside city limits. |
| Civil | Exclusive original jurisdiction above $10,000 and concurrent jurisdiction above $3,000. | District civil cases, evictions, unlawful detainers, and lower-value claims. | Probate handles estate and probate-file matters. |
| Traffic | Appeals or related circuit matters when allowed. | State traffic citations issued to Houston County District Court. | Municipal traffic citations inside city limits. |
| Appeals | Hears appeals from limited-jurisdiction courts in allowed cases, often de novo. | Limited trial court role. | Some municipal, probate, or district matters may move to Circuit Court. |
| Records office | Circuit Clerk and Alacourt ACCESS. | Circuit Clerk and Alacourt ACCESS. | Probate Office, municipal court, or city/town office. |
How Houston Cases Move
Civil, criminal, probate, traffic, and municipal cases do not all start in the same place. A felony may start with investigation, warrant, arrest, district-level preliminary action, grand jury indictment, and then a Circuit Court case. A small claim starts in District Court and can be appealed to Circuit Court. A municipal traffic ticket may stay in municipal court unless an appeal or related circuit issue occurs.
Common flow: Investigation or filing › District Court, municipal court, Probate Court, or Circuit Court › Circuit Court appeal or trial role when allowed › Alabama appellate court.
Appeals from circuit court matters route by subject. Criminal appeals go to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. Civil, domestic, and probate appeals route to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals or Supreme Court of Alabama depending on jurisdiction.
Houston Circuit Court Records Access
Circuit and district case details are searched online through Alacourt ACCESS. The paid portal advertises name searches, case number searches, document images, and case monitoring. Its case detail reports may include basic case information, court actions, case status, setting dates, party information, financial history, and detailed case action summary.
For local copies, certified copies, restricted files, older files, or questions about images missing online, contact the Circuit Clerk. The main phone is (334) 677-4800. Direct division phones include Circuit Civil at (334) 677-4859, Circuit Criminal at (334) 677-4858, Domestic Relations at (334) 677-4805, Traffic at (334) 677-4870, and Juvenile at (334) 677-4880.
Note: Juvenile records are restricted under Alabama law, even when a related court division appears in the local directory.
Houston Circuit Civil Records
Houston County Circuit Civil has exclusive original jurisdiction for civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds $10,000, excluding interest and costs. It also has concurrent jurisdiction with District Court where the matter exceeds $3,000. The Circuit Civil page states that appeals from limited-jurisdiction courts such as municipal, probate, and district courts are tried de novo, meaning tried again with or without a jury.
Domestic Relations is a Circuit Court division where divorces are primarily filed. The Clerk's office says it cannot give legal advice, does not have fill-in-the-blank forms for many pleadings, and does not accept email or faxed paperwork for divorce filings. Divorce decree copy questions go to Domestic Relations at (334) 677-4805.
Houston Circuit Criminal Records
Circuit criminal records include felony prosecutions and serious matters after the case reaches Circuit Court. District criminal records include misdemeanor and preliminary matters. The criminal court record may show the charging instrument, bond, arraignment, pleas, motions, court actions, settings, disposition, sentence, fines, costs, probation terms, and appeal notices. Arrest and booking records are separate sheriff records.
The district attorney or prosecutor path controls many charge decisions. Houston County is in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit with Henry County. Research identifies Russ Goodman as District Attorney for Houston and Henry Counties through local DA sources, but court-record users should rely on the case record and Circuit Clerk for filed charges and court outcomes.
Federal Court Near Dothan
The Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse is at 100 West Troy Street in Dothan. It is nearby, but federal cases are not Houston County Circuit Court records. The Middle District's official information says the Southern Division includes Houston County and that the Dothan courthouse is not staffed. The location page also says not to mail anything to that courthouse.
The Middle District divisional information page explains the Southern Division relationship.
Federal civil, criminal, and bankruptcy records use federal court systems such as PACER, not the Houston County Circuit Clerk.
The Middle District locations page lists federal courthouse contact information.
That federal locations page is useful only when the record is a federal case.
The Dothan federal courthouse page gives the local federal courthouse address and mailing warning.
The warning matters because sending a county court request to a federal courthouse will not produce a Houston County Circuit Court record.
Municipal and Probate Distinctions
Municipal court matters are common in Dothan and other Houston County communities. Houston County's warrant guidance says misdemeanor charges inside Dothan, Taylor, Kinsey, Webb, Ashford, Cottonwood, and Gordon city limits must be handled through their municipal court unless a felony charge is involved in the same incident or extraordinary circumstances exist. Dothan Municipal Court is at 210 N. Saint Andrews Street and the Magistrate's Office is at 115 W. Adams Street.
Probate Court is also separate. It handles adoption, conservatorship, estate, guardianship, involuntary commitment, legitimation, name change, online probate records, and putative father registry functions. Probate records use the Probate Office and Ingenuity portal, while Circuit Court records use the Circuit Clerk and Alacourt ACCESS.