Is a judge disqualified from sentencing after discovering the family is distantly related to the defendant?

Plain-English summary

A judge learned after the trial and punishment stages of a capital case that the judge’s spouse and children were distantly related to the defendant. The judge estimated the children and defendant were sixth cousins; sentencing remained.

The Commission said Canon 3C’s automatic relationship ground reached only the fourth degree and the distant relationship alone did not qualify. On the stated facts, including the judge’s earlier lack of knowledge and acquaintance, it found no disqualification from sentencing whether or not a recusal motion had been filed.

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 the distant relationship itself require disqualification?

A: No. The Commission said a relationship beyond the fourth degree did not itself require it.

Q: Did a motion to recuse change the stated result?

A: No. The Commission said the result was the same whether or not such a motion had been filed.

Background and rules framework

The opinion quotes Canon 3C(1)(d)(i) of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics on a party’s relationship within the fourth degree.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 3C

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 84-218: Extended Family Relationship

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 84-208
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

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

84-208
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
May 28, 1984
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning whether a judge may sit in a proceeding in which his spouse was, and the children are, related to the defendant. The judge estimates that his children and the defendant are sixth cousins. The proceeding is a capital case and prior to accidentally learning of the relationship, the judge had presided over the trial and punishment stages of the case. Only the sentencing phase remains. Disqualification is governed generally by Canon 3C of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. That Canon specifically provides: (1) A judge should disqualify himself in a proceeding in which his disqualification is required by law or his impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where:

(d) He or his spouse, or a person within the fourth degree of relationship to either of them, or the spouse of such a person: (i) Is named a party to the proceeding ... Under this Canon, disqualification is automatically required if the defendant or the defendant’s spouse was related to the judge’s spouse within the fourth degree. If the relationship is more distant than the fourth degree, disqualification does not occur because of the mere fact of the relationship. As the judge points out, neither he nor his wife knew the defendant or the defendant’s family, nor did the judge know of the distant relationship until he inadvertently learned of it after the trial of the case. Therefore, it is the opinion of the Commission, based on the facts presented, that the judge in question is not disqualified from sitting in the sentencing portion of the proceeding. This result is the same whether or not a motion to recuse has been filed. Yours very truly, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION