State of Alabama v. Carlos Kendrell Savage

── State of Alabama v. Carlos Kendrell Savage ── Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama Date: May 01, 2026 Author: Anderson Category: General Rel: May 1, 2026 Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0650), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published in Southern Reporter. Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals OCTOBER TERM, 2025-2026 _________________________ CR-2025-0918 _________________________ State of Alabama v. Carlos Kendrell Savage Appeal from Washington Circuit Court (CC-25-27 and CC-25-900004) ANDERSON, Judge. The State of Alabama appeals the Washington Circuit Court's pretrial order that dismissed, with prejudice, the cases involving indictments returned against Carlos Kendrell Savage accusing him of second-degree burglary and second-degree domestic violence. Because, CR-2025-0918 under the facts presented here, the circuit court abused its discretion when it exercised the harshest available sanction of dismissal with prejudice, we reverse the circuit court's order and remand these cases for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. In March 2025, a Washington County grand jury returned indictments charging Savage with second-degree domestic violence and second-degree burglary. (C. 14-15.) Savage was arraigned in April 2025, and the circuit court entered an order setting both of Savage's cases for trial on November 17, 2025. (C. 21.) Included in the circuit court's order was a provision warning the parties that any motion to continue would "not be granted unless extraordinary circumstances are proven as to why the case should not proceed" so as "to ensure that the resources of the judicial system are utilized wisely." (Id.) Three days before the November 2025 trial date, the circuit court consolidated the cases for the purpose of conducting a single trial. (C. 36.) On November 17, 2025, the individual identified as the victim in Savage's second-degree-domestic-violence indictment failed to appear before the start of jury selection. According to an order entered by the circuit court, the circuit court "requested that the victim of the alleged 2 CR-2025-0918 domestic violence be contacted and be told to appear November 17, 2025," but she "did not appear." (C. 37.) Apparently, the circuit court reset the cases for trial on the following day. The reporter's transcript reflects what transpired at the beginning of the proceedings the following day: "THE COURT: … All right. This matter was set for trial yesterday and we brought jurors back today. "Gentlemen, it's my understanding that the alleged victim in the domestic violence case and -- the domestic violence, which is the underlying felony in the burglary case, is not present. Is that correct? "[Prosecutor]: As of this moment, after talking with her yesterday, she indicated that she would be here. And, in fact, she reached out to us asking some questions to help strengthen the case, so it was fully our understanding that she would be here. And we have -- Penelope House is trying to do a welfare check to make sure that she's okay and hasn't been pressured or anything like that. "THE COURT: Okay. So what's the State's position? "[Prosecutor]: Judge, the -- I mean, at this point, the witnesses who are here are the victims on the burglary. I think they can establish, based on the Defendant's statements when he came