Where may a part-time municipal judge practice law, and may the judge handle cases involving municipal police or ordinances?
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This page answers the general question as of 1988. 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 Commission considered a part-time municipal judge’s private practice before the judge’s own court and in criminal cases in other courts involving municipal police or an ordinance. It said the judge could not practice before the municipal court or represent a client in a matter concerning a municipal ordinance within that court’s jurisdiction.
Under Canons 3C and 5C, handling matters in the judge’s own court would produce disqualifications the judge was required to minimize. Representing a position on the construction of a municipal ordinance could also raise questions about impartiality when the judge later applied that ordinance. The Commission reaffirmed Opinion 83-195’s allowance for unrelated criminal defense work in other courts, even if the municipality’s police would testify.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1988, 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: Could the part-time judge practice before the judge’s own court?
A: No. The Commission said that practice would cause disqualification in the matters handled and related matters.
Q: Could the judge defend a client in another court if municipal police testified?
A: Yes, if the matter and closely related matters had not come and were not likely to come before the judge’s municipal court.
Q: Could the judge represent a client over an ordinance within the municipal court’s jurisdiction?
A: No. The Commission said the judge should refrain from that representation because it could call impartiality into question when the judge applied the ordinance.
Background and rules framework
The opinion quotes Canon 3C on disqualification where impartiality might reasonably be questioned and Canon 5C on financial and business dealings and minimizing disqualifications. It also reaffirms Advisory Opinion 83-195.
Citations and references
Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:
- Canon 3C
- Canon 5C
Other opinions cited:
- Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission Advisory Opinion 83-195, on unrelated criminal defense work by part-time municipal judges.
See also
Source
- Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
- Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 88-348
- Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
88-348
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
December 21, 1988
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning the private practice of law by part-time municipal court judges. Three questions are presented as follows: (1) May a part-time municipal judge who practices law practice before his own court? (2) May a part-time judge represent a criminal defendant in courts other than his own where (a) the municipal police of the judge’s municipality are involved in the investigation or will testify or (b) a municipal ordinance of the same municipality is involved? It is the opinion of the Commission that a part-time municipal court judge may not practice before his own court. He may, however, represent criminal defendants in other courts in matters unrelated to matters coming before his court. However, he should refrain from representing a client in any matter concerning any municipal ordinance falling within the jurisdiction of the municipal court. The first and third questions are governed primarily by Canons 3C and 5C of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. Canon 3C 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:
(b) He served as a lawyer in the matter in controversy ... Canon 5C provides: (1) A judge should refrain from financial and business dealings that tend to reflect adversely on his impartiality, interfere with the proper performance of his judicial duties, or exploit his judicial position.
88-348
Page 2
(3) A judge should manage his investments and other financial interests to minimize the number of cases in which he is disqualified. Under these provisions, a part-time judge, who practices before his own court, automatically causes his own disqualification in all matters handled by him and all matters related thereto. He therefore violates Canon 5C(l) and (3) by failing to “minimize the number of cases in which he is disqualified.” It is our opinion that a part- time judge is therefore prohibited from practicing before his own court. Under similar rationale, a part-time judge would be disqualified from sitting in any proceeding in which he must construe or apply a municipal ordinance whose construction is at issue in another proceeding in which he represents a party. Due to the fact that as an attorney he is taking the position of a proponent or opponent of the ordinance’s construction, his impartiality as a judge “might reasonably be questioned” when he is called upon as judge to apply the ordinance. Again, by accepting such cases as an attorney, the judge fails to “minimize the number of cases in which he is disqualified.” Your second question has been addressed in advisory opinion 83-195 as follows: It is the Commission’s opinion that the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics do not prohibit a part-time municipal judge from representing criminal defendants in the district or circuit courts of any county or in the appellate courts. This is true even if members of the police force of the municipality, where he is judge, testify as witnesses in the case. However, the municipal judge should not act as an attorney in any case involving a matter when it or a closely related matter has come before or is likely to come before his court. The Commission hereby reaffirms that opinion. Sincerely, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION
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