By Brian Lyman | Editor
The state of Alabama charges $244 to file a civil action in court. Local governments can charge fees, too. Some decide not to. one county adds an additional $182 charge on top of that. Those disparities can choke off access to the courts, and it’s why a state commission is recommending changes.
Members of the Joint Interim Study Commission on Court Costs gather to discuss ongoing issues with court-imposed fines and fees at the Alabama Supreme Court on Monday, May 19, 2025. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
By Ralph Chapoco
A state commission formed to study court fees last week recommended that the state make court fees uniform and give local governments greater flexibility in spending the fees. Many local governments depend on court fees to function, but the report from the Joint Interim Study Commission noted major disparities between fees charged by local governments and the fact no more than 20% of criminal court fees are usually collected.
Michael Shannon Taylor was sentenced to death for the murders of Ivan and Lucille Moore during a robbery of their home in Gadsden. (Alabama Department of Corrections)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
By Ralph Chapoco
Gov. Kay Ivey Monday set a November execution date for Michael Shannon Taylor, convicted of killing Ivan and Lucille Moore in their home in Gadsden in 1991. Taylor is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Nov. 5. It is one of two executions Ivey has set for the final months of the year, and could be the third in the state in 2026.
A student working on a "reflections" worksheet in their ninth grade math class at Crossville High School in Crossville, Alabama, on Aug. 28, 2025. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector)
COMMENTARY
By Catherine Dorrough
Eight Alabama high schools made the top 5% of all high schools in the nation, according to a recent survey by U.S. News and World Report. Catherine Dorrough writes that it’s a good sign for a state that’s been perpetually at the bottom of educational rankings. But she also notes that several other schools in the state did nearly as well on Alabama’s state report card without getting the recognition these schools did and looked into the numbers.
ICYMI
US Supreme Court lets Trump move ahead with his White House ballroom project | Ashley Murray, DC Bureau
More rural hospital closures would mean long drives for pregnant women seeking obstetric care | Shalina Chatlani, Stateline
A summer of recalls exposes holes in the nation’s food safety net | Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline
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