A person who contests a notice of violation and is adjudicated by the court to be responsible for the civil fine may appeal the adjudication for a trial de nova to the Circuit Court of Mobile County, in which the district or municipal court is located, using the procedures that apply to criminal convictions with the following qualifications:
(1) The proceedings shall retain their civil nature on appeal with the circuit court applying the preponderance of the evidence standard.
(2) The person appealing, as a condition precedent to appeal, shall pay the civil fine in full, and failure to do so shall divest the Circuit Court of Mobile County. If, on appeal the circuit court finds that the person is not responsible for payment of the civil fine, the county or municipality located in Mobile County, or the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, shall refund the same without interest within 15 days of receipt of notice of the disposition from the circuit court. If the person is adjudicated by the circuit court to be responsible for payment of the civil fine, then no additional fine may be imposed by the circuit court, but court costs of the circuit court shall be owed by the person adjudicated responsible with 100 percent of the court costs retained by the circuit court. Court costs in the circuit court shall be calculated as are court costs for criminal appeals from the district or municipal court of Mobile County, and if the circuit court finds the person appealing to not be responsible, no court costs shall be owed by the county or city boards of education located in Mobile County.
(3) Regardless of the civil nature of the proceedings, the Circuit Court of Mobile County, in its discretion and for its administrative convenience, may assign case numbers as for criminal appeals and place the appeals on criminal dockets in the same manner as criminal appeals from district or municipal court of Mobile County.
Last modified: May 3, 2021