May a judge sign a public statement supporting a partisan ticket that includes nonjudicial candidates?

Plain-English summary

Local officials of a political party were asked to sign a newspaper statement supporting the entire partisan ticket. A judge asked whether signing would violate the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics.

The Commission applied Canon 7A(l), which described campaign activity for nonjudicial candidates as undesirable while acknowledging judges’ participation in party elections. It said the proposed statement was not specifically prohibited, but that the judge should refrain from lending a name to support candidates for nonjudicial public office.

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 opinion call the proposed statement specifically prohibited?

A: No. It said the conduct was not specifically prohibited under the Canons.

Q: Why did the Commission discourage signing?

A: The statement would lend the judge’s name to support candidates for nonjudicial public office, activity Canon 7A(l) described as undesirable.

Background and rules framework

The opinion quotes Canon 7A(l)’s guidance on political activity by judges and candidates, including its distinction between judicial and nonjudicial candidates.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 7
• Canon 7A(l)

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 82-142: Campaigning for a Relative
• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 82-165: Political Dinner Coordinator

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 80-95
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

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

80-95
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
December 15, 1980
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning whether, under the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics, judges may sign a statement supporting a partisan ticket in an election. All local officials, who are members of a certain political party, are being asked to sign the statement. The statement is planned to be published in local newspapers as support for all candidates of the political party in question. The political activities of judges are guided by Canon 7 of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics and, in particular, in this instance, by Canon 7A(l). That Canon provides in pertinent part as follows: “A judge or a candidate for election to a judicial office should endeavor at all times to refrain from political activities inappropriate to the judicial office that he holds or seeks. It is desirable that a judge or a candidate for election to judicial office endeavor not to be involved in the internal workings of political organizations, engage in campaign activities in connection with a political candidate other than candidates for judicial offices and not be involved in political fund solicitations other than for himself. However, so long as judges are subject to nomination and election as candidates of a political party, it is realized that a judge or a candidate for election to a judicial office cannot divorce himself completely from political organizations and campaign activities which, indirectly or directly, may be involved in his election or re-election.” Pursuant to these provisions, it is the opinion of the Commission that while the conduct you describe is not specifically prohibited under the Canons of Judicial Ethics, such conduct is undesirable, and a judge should refrain from lending his name to the support of other candidates for election to non-judicial public office. Sincerely, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION