Ex Parte Galanos

Several circuit court judges, either active judges of the Mobile Circuit Court or retired judges assigned to try criminal cases in the Mobile Circuit Court, petitioned for a writ of mandamus directing the Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate its judgment in Ex parte Bush, 796 So.2d 383 (Ala.Crim.App. 1998). We grant the petition.

Section 15-12-21, Ala. Code 1975, sets out the procedure for appointing counsel for indigent criminal defendants and for compensating the lawyers for their services as appointed counsel.

Section 15-12-3 provides that, within each judicial circuit in Alabama, the…