Did the Judicial Inquiry Commission have jurisdiction over a nonjudge candidate for judicial office?

Plain-English summary

The requester asked about campaign conduct by a judicial candidate who was not already a judge, and about an incumbent judge’s response to an opponent’s allegations.

The Commission said Canon 7C gave the Alabama Supreme Court original jurisdiction over nonjudge candidates, since neither the Commission nor the Court of the Judiciary had jurisdiction over them. It said inquiries or complaints about such candidates should go to the Supreme Court. It did not answer the incumbent judge’s campaign questions, which it said were still under study.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1980, 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: Who had jurisdiction over a nonjudge judicial candidate?

A: The Commission identified the Alabama Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction under Canon 7C.

Q: Did the Commission decide how an incumbent judge could respond to an opponent?

A: No. It said those questions were being studied.

Background and rules framework

The opinion quotes Canon 7C, which places breaches by judicial candidates outside the Commission’s and Court of the Judiciary’s jurisdiction under the Alabama Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 7C

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 80-85: Campaign Comments on Rulings
• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 80-86: Campaign Statements About Litigation

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 80-83
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

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

80-83
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
June 20, 1980
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion regarding certain campaign conduct of a candidate in an election for judicial office where the candidate is not a judge. You also seek an opinion concerning what type of campaign conduct would be appropriate for a judge who feels it necessary to respond to an opponent’s allegations during an election. In response to your first question, it is the opinion of the Commission that a candidate for judicial office, who is not a judge, is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Judicial Inquiry Commission but is subject to the original jurisdiction of the Alabama Supreme Court. (Canon 7C of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics.) Canon 7C specifically provides that: “A candidate for any judicial office not subject to the jurisdiction of the judicial inquiry commission or the court of the judiciary who breaches any applicable mandatory provision of these canons shall be subject to the original jurisdiction of the supreme court of Alabama.” Since the Judicial Inquiry Commission and the Court of the Judiciary have no jurisdiction over non-judges, it is the opinion of the Commission that your inquiries or complaints involving a non-judge candidate for a judicial office should be referred to the Supreme Court of Alabama for consideration by that Court. Your remaining questions regarding the campaign conduct of an incumbent judge are presently being studied by the Commission.