May a judge publish educational newspaper articles about juvenile justice and direct the payment to charity?

Plain-English summary

A judge proposed quarterly educational newspaper articles about juvenile justice and the situation of children and families in Alabama. The newspaper would pay $100, which the judge asked to have donated to a designated charity.

The Commission said the judge could write the articles under Canon 4A, subject to proper performance of judicial duties and no doubt about impartiality on issues that might later arise. Relying on Advisory Opinion 86-265, it also said such articles should not give legal advice.

The Commission found no Canon prohibition on the newspaper donating the proposed payment to charity.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1990, 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 judge write the articles?

A: Yes, under the Canon 4 limits on judicial duties and apparent impartiality, and without giving legal advice.

Q: Could the newspaper donate the $100 payment?

A: Yes. The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit the proposed donation to a designated charity.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies Canon 4A to writing about law and justice and cites Advisory Opinion 86-265 on judicial newspaper articles.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 4
• Canon 4A

Other authorities cited:

• Alabama JIC Advisory Opinion 86-265, a judge’s local newspaper column and the no-legal-advice limit.

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 90-404: Medical Society Speech

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 90-396
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

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

90-396
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
April 3, 1990
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning whether under the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics a judge may contribute quarterly articles to a newspaper for publication where such articles are informative and of an educational nature. The articles would concern juvenile justice and the status of children and families in Alabama. It is the opinion of the Commission that the judge may author and contribute the articles as described so long as the judge closely adheres to the provisions of Canon 4 of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. In pertinent part that Canon provides: “A judge, subject to the proper performance of his judicial duties, may engage in the following quasi-judicial activities, if in doing so he does not cast doubt on his capacity to decide impartially any issue that may come before him: A. He may ... write ... and participate in other activities concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice.” (emphasis supplied) This canon allows a judge to write concerning the law, the legal system and the administration of justice. In Advisory Opinion 86-265, the Commission, applying this canon advised that such writing could take the form of a newspaper article appearing in a local newspaper. However, the judge must take care that articles written for publication do not cast doubt on his ability to decide impartially “any issue that may come before him.” The Commission further advised that the newspaper article or column must refrain from giving legal advice. Thus, such writing by its very nature would be very limited. You further ask whether your $100 compensation for providing such articles may be donated by the newspaper to a designated charity. The Canons do not prohibit such a donation. Sincerely, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION