The University of Alabama School of Law
The University of Alabama School of Law
You can find some briefs if you go to the Alabama state materials and scroll down to Briefs. Though some earlier documents may be available, you should be able to find briefs back to 2000 for the Alabama Supreme Court, 2006 for the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, and 2007 for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. It is important to note that these are selected briefs so you won't be able to find briefs for every case.
Lexis
Using Lexis, if you look through the Alabama state materials, you should find a section labelled Case Related Materials, where there will be a link to All Alabama Briefs, Pleadings & Motions. The extent of what is covered is unknown.
While Bloomberg is usually the best resource for dockets and court materials, Bloomberg does not have any for Alabama, though it might be a great resource for other states.
The Alabama Supreme Court and State Law Library has a collection of Appellate Court Documents. They would likely need to be accessed in person, however, they have copies of Alabama Supreme Court briefs from 1965-1995.
The Alabama Department of Archives and History has collections of court documents, some of which can be found online, but you may have to visit the Department to access most of the materials. The Archives have a continuously growing online collection of Alabama Supreme Court documents that contains original case files from 1820-1877. These records might include interrogatories, exhibits, motions, and other documents not included in the published rulings. You might also be able to find additional documents from the lower courts, such as briefs, summonses, or depositions, as well as photographs, maps, drawings, and other exhibit material.
There is also a physical collection titled Alabama Supreme Court Case Files, 1820-2022, that has records from many cases. Please note that they are several gaps in the collection and many materials are restricted and can only be accessed by appointment, so please make sure check the Archives page for instructions and permissions. You can also find collections for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals Case Files, 1969-2022 and the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Case Files, 1969-2022.
The Alabama Appellate Courts Public Portal provides users with access to public court dockets and case filings in Alabama's Appellate Courts that have been filed on or after March 20, 2022.
Unregistered users of the Portal will only have access to the search capabilities made available through the portal to search case dockets, while registered users may access and download documents from cases (though not for free). To register, one must be an attorney licensed to practice law in Alabama or an attorney that has been approved to appear pro hac vice before an Appellate Court in Alabama.
After registering, users can download materials for $0.50/page. There is also the option to pay $20/month for a subscription that will lower the download price to $0.20/page. If you have the subscription, if you're the attorney of record on the case, you can download documents from that case for free.
For more details, please check out this detailed user guide that the Portal has provided.
The Alabama Court Records website was designed to provide electronic access to Alabama public records in an easy, efficient, and concise manner. Users can access Alabama Criminal Court records, Civil Court records, Family Court records, and Traffic Court records. The information provided on this site is compiled from courts across many different counties across the state, and, as a result, the records that are available may vary, depending on the county. If users would like more information about the court system, the website also provides links to additional information about each court.
Users can search for dockets by name and city or case number.
Note: Alabama Court Records is not operated by, affiliated, or associated with any federal, state or local government so there is a possibility some information could be inaccurate.
Just One Look provides users with access to Alabama Trial Court records. Users can find records from Criminal Court, Civil Court, Small Claims, and State Traffic Courts, as well as records relating to Domestic Relations and Child Support. However, access to the records isn't free so users will have to pay to access documents. See below for the pricing.
