Does a fifth-degree family relationship to a party’s lawyer itself disqualify a judge?

Plain-English summary

A judge asked whether a case had to be reassigned because the party’s lawyer was the child of the judge’s father’s first cousin.

The Commission said that relationship alone did not require disqualification. It classified the relationship as fifth degree, while Canon 3C’s family-based provision reached relatives within the fourth degree.

The opinion addressed recusal based solely on that kinship and quoted Canon 3C’s separate standard for cases in which impartiality might reasonably be questioned.

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: How did the Commission classify the relationship?

A: As a fifth-degree relationship, outside the fourth-degree kinship provision it discussed.

Q: Did kinship alone require recusal?

A: No. The Commission said that particular relationship did not itself require disqualification.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies Alabama Canon 3C and quotes Canon 3C(1)(d)(ii) on interests of relatives within the fourth degree. It limits its answer to disqualification based solely on the stated family relationship.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 3C
• Canon 3C(1)(d)(ii)

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 91-423: Wife’s Brother-in-Law

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 90-400
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

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

90-400
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
April 30, 1990
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning whether under the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics a judge is disqualified from sitting in proceeding in which the child of the judge’s father’s first cousin represents a party. It is the opinion of the Commission that the mere fact of the relationship described above does not require the judge’s disqualification. Judicial disqualification is covered primarily by Canon 3C of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics. In pertinent part that Canon 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: (emphasis supplied)

(ii) Is known by the judge to have an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; Thus, for any disqualification to be based purely upon a familial relationship, the relationship must fall within the fourth degree. The relationship described here is outside of that purview, falling within the fifth degree. Therefore, the Canons make no provision for disqualification based solely on that relationship. Sincerely, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION