Is a judge disqualified because a party serves with the judge on a private school board?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1984. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A judge discovered after taking a case under submission that one party served with the judge on a local private school board.
The Commission said Canon 3C did not require disqualification on those stated facts. It said the judge should tell the parties about the shared board service and, if anyone objected, consider the objections before deciding whether impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1984, 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 shared school board service itself disqualify the judge?
A: No. The Commission found no disqualification on the stated facts.
Q: What did the Commission say about disclosure?
A: The judge should inform all parties of the shared board service and consider any objections.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applies Canon 3C of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics to the judge’s shared board service with a party.
Citations and references
Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:
- Canon 3C
See also
Source
- Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
- Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 84-201
- Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
84-201
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
January 30, 1984
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning whether a judge is disqualified from sitting in a proceeding in which one of the parties to the proceeding is a member of a local private school board to which the judge has recently been appointed. At the time the judge discovered that he served on the board with the party, the case had been taken under submission. Disqualification is by Canon 3C of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. It is the opinion of the Commission that Canon 3C does not require the judge’s disqualification under the facts as stated. However, the judge should inform all of the parties of the fact of his service with one of the parties. If any of the parties object to the judge’s hearing the matter, the judge should consider the objections and then decide whether, under all of the circumstances, his impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Yours very truly, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION
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