Home › Alabama › Rules of Criminal Procedure › Rule 1.2

Rule 1.2 Purpose, objectives, and construction.

RULE 1. SCOPE; PURPOSE, OBJECTIVES, AND CONSTRUCTION; COMPUTATION AND ENLARGEMENT OF TIME; DEFINITIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.

← Previous Rule 1.1: Scope. Next → Rule 1.3: Computation and enlargement of time.

Rule Text

These rules are intended to provide for the just and speedy determination of every criminal proceeding. They shall be construed to secure simplicity in procedure, fairness in administration, and the elimination of unnecessary delay and expense, and to protect the rights of the individual while preserving the public welfare.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

These rules exist to make sure criminal cases move through the court system fairly and without unnecessary delays. The goal is to keep the process simple and easy to follow, so both the accused person and the public can trust that justice is being handled properly.

The rules aim to balance two important things: protecting the rights of the person facing charges and keeping the community safe. Courts are supposed to interpret these rules in a way that avoids wasting time or money, while still giving everyone a fair chance to be heard.

In short, if you're involved in a criminal case, these rules are designed to keep things moving efficiently without cutting corners on fairness. The court should not let cases drag on longer than necessary, but it also cannot skip steps that protect your legal rights.

Committee Notes

Committee Comments

This rule carries with it the constitutional guarantee found in Article I, § 6, Alabama Constitution of 1901, that no person shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process of law.”

Important to the formulation of Rules of Criminal Procedure is the recognition that rules of law are difficult to administer unless they are set forth in a form which is intelligible to the officers who are to act under them and to all persons whose rights are affected by them and who are required to conform to them.

In these rules the terms “he,” “his,” “him,” and “himself,” when used, are used in the general sense and not as gender designations. As used, they include, as appropriate, both the masculine and feminine, as well as the neuter in the case of subjects not customarily classified by gender.

← Previous Rule 1.1: Scope. Next → Rule 1.3: Computation and enlargement of time.

This Rule Set

View All Ala. R. Crim. P. Rules

Last updated: September 2026

Report an error