Arrest Records for Russell County, Alabama

When a name search leads you to Russell County, the records live in two distinct systems: the Russell County Circuit Court — where Circuit Clerk Jody Sellers maintains felony and misdemeanor dockets — and the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, whose jail register is open to public inspection by Alabama law. The Courthouse operates Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Alabama’s statewide trial-court index charges a per-name fee; the free appellate portal is a separate system that will not show county criminal cases.

If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Russell County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.

Searching for records beyond Alabama

Russell County’s court portals only surface cases filed within the Twenty-Sixth Circuit — records that pre-date the portal’s online window, cases from neighboring Lee or Barbour counties, or federal charges may not appear there at all. A nationwide criminal database search can help surface those gaps. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.

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How to look up arrest records in Russell County

Pull the official sources in the order that matches what you already know about the case — court docket, booking record, or state prison record — because each system answers a different question.

Alacourt paid statewide index. Alabama’s trial-court index covers all sixty-seven counties, including Russell County’s Circuit and District courts. A name search carries a per-search fee. The free portal at the same domain covers appellate courts only; it will not return a Russell County criminal case. Researchers and paralegals pulling records for multiple subjects will find this the most efficient single source for court-side data across the state.

Russell County Circuit Clerk — Jody Sellers. For in-county felony and misdemeanor dockets, the Circuit Clerk’s office is the county-level authority. Felony cases appear under Circuit Criminal; misdemeanor and lower-level cases appear under District Criminal. The Courthouse runs Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. In-person payments are cash only for some services; money orders should be made payable to Jody Sellers. The Clerk’s phone line can be congested — verify court dates before driving out. Record copies can be requested through the Record Request and Copies process; call to confirm the current fee before submitting.

Russell County Sheriff’s Office — booking records. Alabama law requires the sheriff’s jail register to be open to public inspection. For a recent booking at the Russell County Jail, (334) 705-5200 is the direct jail line. The Russell County Sheriff’s Office is located at 305 Prentiss Dr, Phenix City, and is wheelchair accessible with parking available. Reach the Sheriff’s Office at (334) 298-6426. Booking records held by the Sheriff are distinct from court docket entries — they may show a booking date and charges before any case number has been assigned by the Clerk.

Opelika Police Department — municipal arrests. Arrests made by the Opelika Police Department generate separate municipal records. The Opelika Police Department’s police reports page is the county-official resource for those records. Open-records requests to Opelika PD can be submitted through the city’s open-records request portal. Note that some municipal court cases sit outside the Alacourt statewide index; confirm with the city court directly if a charge originated there.

Alabama Department of Corrections — state prison records. Someone serving a state sentence is no longer in the county jail. The Alabama Department of Corrections inmate search covers people in ADOC custody statewide. Use this after a conviction and sentencing, not for a recent arrest still held at the county level.

Magistrates and warrants. The Russell County Twenty-Sixth Circuit Court maintains a magistrates and warrants section on its official court site. Journalists and researchers documenting active warrant activity in Russell County should check that resource alongside the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm numbers and hours before visiting or calling any county office.

Are Russell County arrest records public?

Under Alabama law, most adult criminal records generated in Russell County carry a default-public status from the moment they enter the system. The Alabama Open Records Act — Ala. Code §§ 36-12-40 to 36-12-46 — establishes that public records are open to inspection by any citizen, and booking records held by the Russell County Sheriff’s Office fall squarely within that framework. The Sheriff’s jail register is presumptively public; no special showing is required to view it.

Juvenile records are the most significant exception. Records generated in Alabama’s juvenile justice system are confidential by statute, and that confidentiality applies in Russell County the same as everywhere in the state. A person arrested as a juvenile does not have a publicly accessible record through the Clerk or Sheriff — those files are sealed from public view as a matter of law, not discretion.

Sealed and expunged adult records are a second category of exception. Once a Russell County Circuit Court judge grants an expungement petition under Alabama’s expungement statute, the record is removed from public access. It remains visible to law enforcement but does not appear in public Alacourt searches or in response to open-records requests. The practical effect: a name search that returns no results does not necessarily mean no arrest ever occurred.

Victim-protection redactions apply in certain cases. Identifying information for crime victims — particularly in sexual-offense and domestic-violence matters — may be withheld from otherwise public documents. The underlying case record remains public; specific fields within it may be redacted before release.

Municipal charges present a separate access question. An arrest by the Opelika Police Department for a city ordinance violation may appear in Opelika’s own records system rather than in the Alacourt index. The city’s open-records request process is the correct channel for those records, not the Circuit Clerk.

What’s in a Russell County arrest record?

Booking date, arresting agency, and charge description — those are the fields you see first when a Russell County arrest record opens on screen. What comes next depends on which system you’re looking at, because the Sheriff’s booking record and the court’s docket entry are maintained separately and may show different information at different stages of a case.

Sheriff-side booking record. The Russell County Sheriff’s Office booking entry typically includes: the booking date and time, the full legal name and date of birth of the person booked, the arresting agency (Sheriff’s Office, Opelika PD, or another law-enforcement body), the charge or charges as written at booking, and bond information. The official record may also contain a booking photograph. For the Sheriff’s mugshot release policy, call (334) 298-6426 — the policy is not published online.

Court docket entry. Once a case is filed with Circuit Clerk Jody Sellers, the docket entry at the Russell County Courthouse adds a case number, the assigned judge, attorney of record (if one has appeared), and scheduled hearing dates. Felony cases appear in the Circuit Criminal docket; misdemeanor cases appear in the District Criminal docket. These are the fields visible through Alacourt’s paid name search.

Disposition. A disposition is the final outcome of a criminal case — guilty plea, conviction after trial, acquittal, dismissal, or nolle prosequi (the prosecutor’s decision not to proceed). The disposition appears on the court-side docket entry, not on the Sheriff’s booking record. A booking record with no corresponding disposition means either the case is still pending or the charge was resolved at a level that didn’t generate a Circuit or District Court filing. Researchers pulling records for a complete picture need both systems: the booking record from the Sheriff and the docket entry from the Clerk at the Russell County Courthouse.

Traffic and municipal records. Traffic citations resolved through Alabama’s Online Traffic Resolution system appear separately from criminal dockets. The Alabama Online Traffic Resolution System handles those. Municipal ordinance violations processed through Opelika’s city court may not appear in either the Sheriff’s booking register or the Alacourt index — the Opelika Police Department’s records office is the right contact for those.

How to expunge an arrest record in Russell County

Alabama’s expungement statute — Ala. Code § 15-27-1 — covers a broader range of cases than most published guidance suggests. Since 2021, the law reaches certain convictions, not only charges that were dismissed or ended in acquittal. If you’ve seen older material saying expungement is only for non-convictions, that guidance is out of date.

Non-conviction cases. Charges that were dismissed, nolle prossed, or resulted in acquittal are generally the most straightforward to seal. Alabama law provides a path for these cases without a conviction-based waiting period. The petition is filed in the Circuit Court for the county where the charge was brought — for a Russell County arrest, that means filing with Circuit Clerk Jody Sellers at the Russell County Courthouse, which operates Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

Conviction cases. The 2021 expansion of the statute opened a sealing path for certain misdemeanor and lower-level convictions after the applicable waiting period and with a clean record during that period. The controlling statute sets the timing requirements; check the current text of Ala. Code § 15-27-1 or ask the Clerk’s office directly, because the specific waiting period is a legal number you should confirm from the statute itself rather than from a summary.

The Petition to Seal. The document you file is the Petition to Seal (or Petition for Expungement, depending on the form version in use). It is filed with the Circuit Clerk in the county where the charge originated. The Russell County Circuit Clerk’s office can tell you the current filing fee; in-person payments are cash only for some transactions, with money orders made payable to Jody Sellers. An indigency waiver path exists for those who cannot afford the fee — ask the Clerk about that process when you file.

Who can object. After you file, the district attorney and the arresting agency are entitled to object. The court schedules a hearing if an objection is raised. This is a standard procedural step, not a barrier unique to Russell County.

What sealing does and doesn’t do. After a successful petition, the record is removed from public Alacourt searches and does not appear in response to open-records requests. Law enforcement retains access. The practical effect for most people is that the arrest no longer surfaces in public name searches.

Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted. You can file the petition yourself. The Russell County Circuit Clerk’s record-request and filing process is documented at the Clerk’s records page. For cases involving a conviction, or where the district attorney is likely to object, an attorney familiar with the Twenty-Sixth Circuit can help you anticipate the hearing. The Alabama State Bar’s the state bar lawyer directory connects you with local counsel. If cost is a concern, the Alabama indigent defense locator can identify public defender resources.

Quick-contacts: Russell County arrest records

Frequently asked questions about Russell County arrest records

How do I find out what’s on my Russell County arrest record?

Pull from both systems. The court-side record lives with Circuit Clerk Jody Sellers at the Russell County Circuit Court — felony cases appear in the Circuit Criminal docket and misdemeanor cases in the District Criminal docket. The booking record lives with the Russell County Sheriff’s Office at (334) 298-6426. Alabama’s statewide Alacourt index charges a per-name fee and covers trial-court cases across all 67 counties; the free portal covers appellate courts only. If you were arrested by Opelika PD rather than the Sheriff, request those records separately through the Opelika Police Department. The Courthouse is open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. ET.

How do I get a Russell County arrest record expunged or sealed?

File a Petition to Seal with Circuit Clerk Jody Sellers at the Russell County Courthouse — that’s the court where the charge was originally brought. Alabama’s expungement law (Ala. Code § 15-27-1) covers dismissed and acquitted cases and, since 2021, certain convictions after the applicable waiting period. After filing, the district attorney and the arresting agency may object; the court schedules a hearing if they do. Call the Clerk’s office to confirm the current filing fee before you go — in-person payments are cash only for some transactions, with money orders made payable to Jody Sellers. If you need legal help, the Alabama State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can connect you with local counsel.