Did Opinion 80-91 require recusal and bar appointment when a judge or spouse was related to an attorney within the fourth degree?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1980. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The judge asked three questions: whether to hear a case with a defense attorney related to the judge or spouse within the fourth degree, whether the same applied to a prosecuting attorney, and whether to appoint such a relative for an indigent criminal defendant.
The Commission answered all three questions affirmatively. It said Canon 3C required disqualification in the case questions because the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. It gave the same affirmative answer to the appointment question without additional analysis.
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: Did the answer differ for defense and prosecution counsel?
A: No. The Commission answered both disqualification questions affirmatively.
Q: Did the opinion allow appointment of a related lawyer for an indigent defendant?
A: No. It answered the question whether the judge was disqualified from making that appointment affirmatively.
Background and rules framework
The opinion cites Canon 3C’s reasonable-question-about-impartiality standard and says the Commission had reached the same result in prior opinions, without naming them.
Citations and references
Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:
- Canon 3C
See also
- AL Judicial Ethics Op. 80-96: Daughter or Her Firm Appears
- AL Judicial Ethics Op. 94-512: Judge’s Child as Counsel
Source
- Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
- Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 80-91
- Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
80-91
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
October 10, 1980
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has received your request for an opinion concerning the following three questions under the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics: (1) Is a judge disqualified from hearing a case in which he or his spouse is related to the defense attorney within the fourth degree? (2) Is a judge disqualified from hearing a case in which he or his spouse is related to the prosecuting attorney within the fourth decree? (3) Is a judge disqualified from appointing an attorney in an indigent criminal case where the attorney is related to the judge or his spouse within the fourth degree? It is the opinion of the Commission that all three of your questions must be answered in the affirmative. This Commission has ruled on several previous occasions that a judge is disqualified from hearing any proceeding in which he or his spouse is related within the fourth degree to an attorney for either party, since under the Canons of Judicial Ethics, Canon 3C, the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Sincerely, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION
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