Jefferson County Circuit Court (Bessemer Division) Veteran's Court

Jefferson County's Circuit Court sits in two divisions, Birmingham and Bessemer, and the District Attorney for the Bessemer Cutoff publishes the rules of the Bessemer Division's Veteran's Court, one of its five diversion courts. The Administrative Office of Courts' 2026 map counts two veterans courts in Jefferson County, one in the Birmingham Division and one in Bessemer; only the Bessemer court's rules are published. Who. "Honorably discharged veterans charged with nonviolent drug or property crimes due to conduct caused by service-related disorders such as drug or alcohol abuse, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder." Defendants with previous felony convictions are ineligible. An Assistant District Attorney reviews each request, and the defendant must furnish a copy of the "DD-256 Certificate of Honorable Discharge" to be approved. How it works. The defendant pleads guilty under a plea agreement, admits the conduct, and agrees to pay restitution and court costs; an agreed sentence is deferred. The programme requires random drug and alcohol testing by TASC, treatment referrals, job training, community service, and the programme's expenses. On completion the guilty plea is set aside and the case dismissed; on removal the agreed sentence can be imposed. Sanctions can include short jail stays or court-ordered inpatient treatment. How narrow it is. The DD-256 is the certificate issued only with an honorable discharge, so a veteran with a general discharge under honorable conditions, or one who has only a DD-214, should ask the District Attorney whether the DD-214 will be accepted. The programme's costs and expenses fall on the participant. A veteran charged in the Birmingham Division should ask defence counsel or the Jefferson County Veterans Service Office about that division's veterans court: the Birmingham Division's own circuit site (jefferson.alacourt.gov) was read whole on October 12, 2026 - its menu is the site's complete one - and it carries no veterans court page or rules, so the division's rules remain unpublished.