§ 1-8. General penalty; violations of Code, ordinance, or state law.
(a)
Any person committing an offense within the corporate limits of the city, or within the police jurisdiction thereof, which is in violation of this Code or any ordinance of the city, now existing or hereafter enacted, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and/or may be imprisoned or sentenced to labor for the city for a period not exceeding six (6) months, at the discretion of the court trying the case; provided, however, no penalty shall consist of a fine or sentence of imprisonment exceeding the maximum fine or sentence of imprisonment established under state law for the commission of substantially similar offenses.
(b)
Any person committing an offense within the corporate limits of the city, or within the police jurisdiction thereof, which is declared by a law or laws of the state, now existing or hereafter enacted, to be a misdemeanor, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and/or may be imprisoned or sentenced to labor for the city for a period of not exceeding six (6) months for a class A or class B misdemeanor, and not exceeding three (3) months for a class C misdemeanor, at the discretion of the court trying the case.
(c)
Any person found to be driving under the influence, in violation of section 32-5A-191, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) and not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for the first offense, not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) and not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for the second offense, and not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for the third or subsequent offense, as provided in the statute, in the discretion of the court trying the case. Imprisonment and labor shall be as provided by statute.
(d)
Any person committing an offense within the corporate limits of the city, or within the police jurisdiction thereof, which is declared by a law or laws of the state, now existing or hereafter enacted, to be an offense as defined in section 13A-1-2, Code of Alabama 1975, as amended, which is not declared by a law of the state to be a felony, misdemeanor or violation, shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), and/or may be imprisoned or sentenced to labor for the city for a period of not exceeding six (6) months, at the discretion of the court trying the case.
(e)
Any person committing an offense within the corporate limits of the city, or within the police jurisdiction thereof, which is declared by a law or laws of the state, now existing or hereafter enacted, to be a violation shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200.00), and/or may be imprisoned or sentenced to labor for the city for a period of not exceeding thirty (30) days, or double the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim as authorized in section 13A-5-12, Code of Alabama 1975, at the discretion of the court trying the case.
(f)
Any corporation found to be in violation shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one dollar ($1.00), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00), at the discretion of the court trying the case.
(g)
In all cases where the same offense is made punishable or is created by different clauses or sections of this Code or of an ordinance, the prosecuting officer may elect under which to proceed; but not more than one (1) recovery shall be had against the same person for the same offense; provided, the revocation of a license or permit, or the abatement of a nuisance and the assessment, of the cost thereof, shall not be considered a recovery or penalty so as to bar the enforcement of any other penalty.
(h)
Whenever a minimum, but not a maximum, fine or penalty is imposed, the court may in its discretion fine the offender the minimum or any sum exceeding the minimum fine or penalty so imposed, but not exceeding the maximum provided in this section.
(i)
No provision of this Code or any ordinance designating the duties of any officer or employee shall be so construed as to make such officer or employee liable for any fine or penalty for a failure to perform such duty, unless the intention of the council to impose such fine or penalty on such officer or employee is specifically and clearly expressed in the section creating the duty.
(Code 1976, §§ 13-1.3, 13-1.4)
State law reference
Authority of city to enforce obedience to ordinances by fine not exceeding $500.00 and by imprisonment or hard labor not exceeding 6 months, or both, Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 11-45-1, 11-45-9; punishment for DUI up to $5,000.00 and one year in jail, Code of Ala. 1975, § 11-45-9; authority to abate nuisances, Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 11-47-117, 11-47-118; as to municipal courts, see § 12-14-1 et seq.; punishment, Code of Ala. 1975, § 13A-5-1 et seq.