John Carl Harris III was convicted of two counts of operating a business without a license under a City of Gulf Shores ordinance after his company, Gulf Coast Rental Company, rented golf carts in 2024. Harris appealed to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals following a trial de novo in circuit court. The court reversed the convictions, holding that the company possessed a valid business license covering the rental of recreational goods, which included golf carts, and that no separate license was required under the ordinance. The court further noted that the city ordinances at the time did not prohibit golf cart rentals and that the prior denial of a specific license application did not establish a violation.
Jeremy T. Williams appealed his guilty-plea convictions in Russell Circuit Court for four counts of capital murder in the death of five-year-old K.H., including murders committed during kidnapping, rape, and sodomy, as well as his resulting death sentence. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the capital-murder convictions and death sentence while dismissing the appeal as to his other convictions. The court found that Williams knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights in the guilty plea, the jury found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt after trial on the capital charges, and the sentencing court properly identified and weighed aggravating circumstances (such as the victim's age under 14, commission during kidnapping and rape, and heinous nature of the crimes) against the limited mitigating circumstances before imposing death. The court independently reweighed the factors, confirmed the sentence was not the result of passion or prejudice, and determined it was neither excessive nor disproportionate compared to penalties in similar Alabama cases.
The case involved Alton LeVon Surles's appeal of the Lee Circuit Court's order revoking his probation for a 2021 conviction of first-degree promoting prison contraband. Surles had been accused of technical violations including failing to report to his probation officer, violating electronic monitoring and curfew rules, and changing residences without permission; he had already received sanctions from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Montgomery Circuit Court for the same conduct. The Lee Circuit Court denied his motion to dismiss and fully revoked his probation, ordering him to serve the remainder of his 15-year sentence. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed, holding that under Ala. Code § 15-22-54(e)(1)c. the violations were technical in nature and did not involve new offenses, absconding, or failure to complete a rehabilitative program, so the maximum sanction permitted was 45 days of confinement rather than full revocation.
The case involved T.A.A., Jr.'s appeal from guilty-plea convictions in Coffee Circuit Court on multiple counts of production of obscene matter depicting a person under 17, sexual abuse of a child under 12, first-degree sodomy, and a parent permitting children to engage in production of obscene matter. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals initially remanded for resentencing because the original sentences omitted the mandatory minimum 10 years of post-release supervision required by § 13A-5-6(c) for Class A felony sex offenses involving a child. After resentencing on remand, T.A.A. sought to withdraw his plea on the ground that the added supervision term rendered it involuntary. The court held that the single plea agreement covering all 14 charges, negotiated and accepted in one proceeding, was indivisible, so the trial court could not sever only the affected counts; it therefore reversed the convictions and remanded with directions to set aside the plea and restore the case to the docket.
The case involved Steven Richard Mulkey's appeal of his capital-murder conviction and death sentence for intentionally killing Siu Mei Kao and Ching Kao, an elderly couple, by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct under Alabama law. Mulkey had been hired by the victims for odd jobs and was recorded on surveillance video striking them with a hammer during an argument at their motel; he was later stopped by police while driving their vehicle containing the victims' safe and bodies. The jury found two aggravating circumstances, including a prior violent felony conviction, and unanimously recommended death. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence, holding that the evidence supported the jury's findings, the sentence was not imposed under improper influence, and it was neither excessive nor disproportionate compared to similar cases.
Jackie Lebaron Ruffin, Jr. appealed the Mobile Circuit Court's revocation of his probation, which was based on allegations including a new domestic-violence offense. At the revocation hearing, the court relied on judicial notice of a district court's probable-cause finding from a preliminary hearing and unsworn statements by counsel and an officer, without hearing sworn testimony or nonhearsay evidence directly connecting Ruffin to the alleged offense. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the revocation, holding that Alabama law requires sufficient nonhearsay evidence to support revocation for a new criminal offense and that a probable-cause finding alone, which may rest on hearsay, does not meet this standard. The case was remanded for a compliant hearing under Rule 27.6, Ala. R. Crim. P., unless waived.