{"data":{"id":"us-al/ala.-code-12-1-26","jurisdiction":"us-al","citation":"Ala. Code § 12-1-26","heading":"Continuance Upon Absence of Certain Parties Due to Service with National Guard or United States Armed Forces - Civil Cases.","body":"(a)(1) A court shall grant a continuance for good cause shown when a party or his or her counsel of record in a civil case is absent from court when the case is called for trial because the party or counsel of record is on active duty as a member of the National Guard or a reserve or active component of the Armed Forces of the United States, unless the court finds, on the record, that granting the continuance would substantially prejudice another party, unduly burden the administration of justice, or that reasonable alternatives exist to protect the rights of the absent service member.\n(2) The case may proceed if the party, in the absence of his or her counsel of record, or the counsel of record in the absence of the party, announces ready for trial on the call of the case.\n(b) A court shall continue a civil case upon a showing by a party that a witness is unavailable because the witness is on active duty as a member of the National Guard or as a member of a reserve or active component of the Armed Forces of the United States if all of the following are established by the movant:\n(1) The witness is material and necessary.\n(2) The movant has submitted a request to the proper military authority for the testimony of the witness in accordance with 5 U.S.C. § 301, and any rule or directive adopted or issued by the proper authority pursuant to that section.\n(3) The provisions of Section 12-21-135.1 are not satisfied.","path":["Title 12 Courts.","Chapter 1 General Provisions."],"source_url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=12-1-26","current_through":"Act 2026-611","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-10-10T05:41:29Z","sha256":"9f4636daad56d7cf0515c6f237e938aeb63e2620352d71feee9c52f0567b1bbf","source_id":"us-al","stale":false,"prev":"us-al/ala.-code-12-1-25","next":"us-al/ala.-code-12-2-1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}