May a circuit judge continue serving on a county port authority board?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1991. 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 newly appointed circuit judge asked whether service could continue on the Florence Lauderdale County Port Authority board. The county commission had appointed the judge to that board.
Canon 5G discouraged, but did not itself prohibit, service on boards concerned with policy outside improvement of the law and legal system. The Commission then applied Canon 2A’s duty to respect and comply with law. It read Alabama Code § 11-94-7(a) to prohibit state officers from serving as port authority directors and treated a circuit judge as a state officer.
The Commission also treated a port authority directorship as another office of public trust barred to judges by § 6.08(b) of Amendment 328 to the Alabama Constitution. It therefore concluded that Canon 2A prohibited the judge’s continued board service.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1991, 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 Canon 5G alone prohibit the board service?
A: No. The Commission said Canon 5G discouraged this type of board service but did not prohibit it.
Q: Why did the Commission ultimately prohibit service?
A: It applied Canon 2A together with the cited statute barring state officers from port authority boards and the constitutional bar on a judge holding another office of public trust.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applies Canons 5G and 2A. Its legal analysis cites Ala. Code 1975 §§ 11-94-1 et seq., 11-94-2(a), and 11-94-7(a), and 11-94-7(b), and Alabama Constitution Article I, § 42, Amendment 328, and § 6.08(b) of that amendment.
Citations and references
Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:
- Canon 5G
- Canon 2A
Other authorities cited:
- Ala. Code 1975 §§ 11-94-1 et seq., 11-94-2(a), 11-94-7(a), and 11-94-7(b).
- Alabama Constitution Article I, § 42, and Amendment 328, including § 6.08(b).
See also
Source
- Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
- Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 91-430
- Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
91-430
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
June 24, 1991
In your letter dated June 5, 1991, you request an opinion from the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission on whether you can continue to serve on the Board of the Florence Lauderdale County Port Authority after your appointment as a Circuit Judge. You were appointed to the Port Authority by the Lauderdale County Commission. Port authorities are authorized by Ala. Code 1975, § 11-94-1 et seq. as “nonprofit public corporations to develop waterfront property for recreational, transportational, agricultural, industrial and commercial purposes by refinancing, acquiring, enlarging, improving, replacing, owning, operating, selling, leasing and disposing of a project or projects or any part thereof.” §11-94-2(a). Canon 5G of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics discourages but does not prohibit a judge’s service on a board “that is concerned with issues of fact or policy on matters other than the improvement of the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice.” However, Canon 2A provides that a judge “should respect and comply with the law”. The last sentence of §11-94-7(a) provides: “No director [of a port authority] shall be an officer or employee of the state or of an authorizing subdivision.” It is the opinion of the Commission that, for purposes of the Canons of Judicial Ethics, a circuit judge is an officer of the State of Alabama. See Ala. Const. Art. I, §42 (Legislative, Executive and Judicial departments established) and Amend. 328 (The Judicial Article). Furthermore, §6.08(b) of Amendment 328 provides, in pertinent part: “(N]o judge, . . . shall . . . hold any other office of public trust. . . .” In the opinion of the Commission, a member of the board of directors of a port authority is an officer of public trust. See
§11-94-7(b) providing that any director may be impeached and removed from office in the manner and on the same grounds provided for in §175 of the Alabama Constitution. Therefore, it is the opinion of the Judicial Inquiry Commission that Canon 2A of the Canons of Judicial Ethics prohibits a circuit judge from serving as a member of the board of directors of a port authority. Respectfully, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION
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