Did a plaintiff’s federal civil rights suit against the trial judge require the judge to leave the plaintiff’s pending state case?

Plain-English summary

A plaintiff unhappy with a trial setting and the denial of summary judgment filed a federal civil rights suit against the circuit judge, alleging racial discrimination and seeking orders and nominal damages. The judge asked whether to continue presiding in the plaintiff’s underlying state case and said the judge could provide a fair and impartial trial.

On the facts provided, the Commission said Canon 3 did not require the judge to disqualify from the pending state case. The letter does not assess the merits of the federal allegations.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1977, after the Alabama Supreme Court’s 1975 adoption of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. Subsequent amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify the current Canons and linked opinion before relying on its conclusions.

Common questions

Q: What triggered the recusal question?

A: The state-case plaintiff filed a federal civil rights action against the trial judge over case rulings and alleged discrimination.

Q: Did the Commission require disqualification from the state case?

A: No. It found no Canon 3 requirement on the facts submitted.

Q: Did it decide the federal suit’s merits?

A: The letter addresses only recusal from the state case and gives no merits ruling on the federal allegations.

Background and rules framework

The letter applies Canon 3 to the specific disqualification question after a litigant sued the judge. It relies on the facts stated by the judge and identifies no general rule about other suits against judges.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 3

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 78-41: Former Hospital Board Member Recusal
• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 80-74: Judge’s Lawyer Appearing in Case

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 77-29
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

77-29
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
October 4, 1977
Upon consideration of the facts which you submitted to us, it is the opinion of this Commission that Canon 3 of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics does not require that you disqualify yourself in the matter you have described and which is presently pending before your court. The facts surrounding your question of disqualifications are as follows: Plaintiff filed a civil action in the circuit court of Mobile County. By lot, the case was assigned to you as Circuit Judge. You set the case for trial December 7, 1977. Plaintiff, being displeased with the trial date and feeling that the trial date should have been set earlier, and being displeased with the court’s overruling a motion for summary judgment, filed a civil rights action in federal court charging you as trial judge with racial discrimination. In this federal lawsuit plaintiff asks the federal court to order you to set an earlier trial date; to grant his motion for summary judgment in the case pending in your court; to enjoin you from discrimination against litigants on the basis of race; and to grant plaintiff nominal damages. You stated in your request for an opinion that you feel completely competent to give the plaintiff a fair and impartial trial without prejudice to him.