(a) The original jurisdiction of the circuit courts over felonies and misdemeanors is, in all things, unchanged; except, that when a prosecution for a misdemeanor has been first commenced and is still pending in a district court or a municipal court, the prosecution in the circuit court shall be abated on plea.
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-15-43

  • circuit: means judicial circuit. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • 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 plea provided for in subsection (a) of this section must state that the prosecution in the district court or the municipal court was commenced without the agency, request, participation, connivance or authority of the defendant and must be sworn to. Each and every averment of the plea may be traversed and denied; and if, on the trial of the issue, it appears that such prosecution was commenced by the agency, request, participation, connivance or authority of the defendant, then the jury must be instructed, if it finds either of these facts to exist, to find the issue in favor of the state, and the case must proceed to trial in the circuit court, as the case may be.
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