"Courts By State" for Alabama

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF COURTS

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Submitted on 02-22-08
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300 DEXTER AVENUE
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
TOLL-FREE:1-866-954-9411
LOCAL: 334-954-5000

Because there is so much at stake... Lives and liberty hang in the balance. We are the guardians of justice...Sue Bell Cobb

As Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and Chief Administrative Officer for Alabama's Judicial System, it is an honor to serve the people of the great State of Alabama. To assist in the performance of my administrative responsibilities, I have appointed Callie T. Dietz as Administrative Director of Courts and she will lead the other personnel who collectively serve within the Administrative Office of Courts (AOC). The AOC was created in 1977 to oversee the administration of daily operations resulting in a unified judiciary which is one of the oldest and most efficient in the nation.

My first contact with AOC was in 1981 when I became a trial court judge. That relationship grew as I accepted special court assignments in 40 of 67 counties, participated in court committees, and attended and taught in Judicial College conferences. AOC is dedicated to serving the courts of Alabama and to enabling all court officials to enhance their skills, for there is so much at stake. Lives and liberty hang in the balance. We are the guardians of justice.

Please let us know what we can do to improve our services, and make the courts more accessible. Take a few minutes to complete the Alabama Unified Judicial System (UJS) Survey by clicking on the blue survey button to the left or visit survey.alacourt.gov. This survey is for all employees and users of the Alabama UJS. Responses will be used to assess and improve the courts in Alabama.

We are here to serve.

Sue Bell Cobb

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Human Resources

Mittie Chappell, Division Director The Human Resources Division of the Administrative Office of Courts provides a full range of human resources services to the judicial branch of government. Direct support is provided to approximately 2447 Unified Judicial System (UJS) officials and employees. As of December 2007, included are 163 appellate judges and employees, 1,978 trial court officials and employees, 10 Judicial Study Commission employees, and 96 Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) staff.   Vonda Sanders, Assistant Director Personnel Operations:         The operations sections of the division processes all personnel actions. Last year more than 6,984 separate actions were processed manually, including appointments, separations, promotions, leave without pays, reclassifications; three and six month probationary paperwork, annual probationary raises, and longevity bonuses, as well as other miscellaneous actions such as tax, address, and name changes. The operations section maintains all employee personnel records and position control for the offices of more than 340 appointing authorities, using an automated information system and periodic reports. This section also audits all UJS payrolls and certifies state service for the annual longevity bonus. Payroll Operations  The payroll section of Human Resources process daily data entry; timesheets; one-time pays; supplemental pay; restitution checks weekly; mail outs of payroll warrants; tracks payroll warrants, etc., Title IV information; duplicate/cancelled warrants; county supplement; FICA cut offs; W-2 requests throughout the year; court referral officer transactions; JPO fund changes/updates; insurance reimbursement for separated/terminated/retired employees; longevity bonuses; deferred compensation (PEBSCO, RSA-1, United Way); funding source/organization code changes; unemployment compensation; insurance billing; direct deposits; employment verifications; retirement contributions and miscellaneous deduction. Fringe Benefits The Human Resources Division is responsible for monitoring a leave program (HRDesktop) for approximately 2,194 leave-earning employees and AOC staff. Because leave represents a potential debt of the UJS, the Human Resources Division audits leave accounts annually. The AOC and trial courts total leave liability exceeded $15,691,839.00 in 2007. Testing and Recruitment For fiscal year 2006-2007, 977 applicants had taken the written court specialist examinations. In addition to maintaining the open and promotional court specialist registers, the division issued numerous special job announcements for positions at the AOC, trial courts, and in the appellate courts. Equal Employment Opportunity As of January 1, 2008, there were 413 minorities employed in the UJS. This included 32 elected officials as well as 17 appellate, 330 trial court, and 34 AOC employees. This is 16.9 percent of the total Unified Judicial System work force.   Standing from left to right: Gay Pitts, Lisa Gilliland, Cindy Wooten, Janice Johnson, Delores Dunaway, and Vonda Sanders. Sitting from left to right: Tina Gaddis, Mittie Chappell, Ed Johnson.