(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that a duplicate of a certified copy of a public record be admissible and is not dependent on the original custodian of record to gain admissibility. Further, the Legislature finds that the certification by the clerk of the court and the certification by the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency assures reliability and trustworthiness.

Attorney's Note

Under the Alabama Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class A misdemeanorup to 1 yearup to $6,000
For details, see Ala. Code § 13A-5-7
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Terms Used In Alabama Code 15-20A-40

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • 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
(b) The clerk of the court shall forward a certified copy of a sex offender’s adjudication or conviction to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency within 30 days of receipt of the order of adjudication or conviction of any of the offenses listed in Section 15-20A-5.
(c) Any state, county, or municipal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General, or a district attorney may request a duplicate of the sex offender’s adjudication or conviction from the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
(d) Upon the request of any of the agencies listed in subsection (c), the custodian of records, or its designee, of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency shall immediately certify all of the following:

(1) That the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency received the certified copy of the sex offender’s conviction or adjudication from the clerk of the court pursuant to subsection (b).
(2) That the original certified copy received from the clerk of the court remains in the possession of the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
(3) That no changes or alterations have been made to the original certified copy.
(e) Upon certification by the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, as provided in subsection (d), the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency shall immediately forward the certified documents to the requesting agency.
(f) Notwithstanding any other law or rule of evidence, a certified copy of the record of adjudication or conviction as defined in subsection (b), provided by the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency, as provided in subsection (d), shall be proof of the sex offender’s adjudication or conviction of a sex offense and shall be admissible into evidence, without further proof, in any court in this state.
(g) For the purpose of this section, the term conviction or adjudication shall mean a final conviction or adjudication, regardless of whether the conviction or adjudication is on appeal.
(h) Any clerk of a court, who willfully or intentionally fails to report any such conviction or adjudication in his or her court shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
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