Ezel / Ethics Opinions / JUDICIAL-AL

Is a judge disqualified when a lawyer at the court reporter’s spouse’s firm appears?

Short answer Opinion 94-535 says the court reporter’s marriage to a lawyer at counsel’s firm does not by itself disqualify the judge, and calls for disclosure of the judge’s relationship to the court reporter to the parties and lawyers.
Bar
JUDICIAL-AL
Issued
December 9, 1994
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1994. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.

Disclaimer: Advisory only. Not binding precedent.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ethics opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

The judge’s court reporter was married to a lawyer at a law firm whose members might appear before the judge. The Commission applied its earlier Opinion 94-513 and found no automatic disqualification merely because of that family relationship.

The Commission said the judge should tell the parties and their lawyers about the judge’s relationship to the court reporter to avoid an appearance of impropriety.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994, 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: Is the family relationship alone grounds for disqualification?

A: No. The Commission says it does not automatically require the judge’s disqualification.

Q: What disclosure does the opinion call for?

A: The judge should inform the parties and their attorneys of the relationship between the judge and the court reporter.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies the Commission’s earlier Opinion 94-513 and does not cite a numbered Canon.

Citations and references

Other opinions cited:

  • Alabama JIC Opinion 94-513, on a judge’s court reporter married to a lawyer whose firm appears before the judge.

See also

Source

Original opinion text

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

94-535
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
December 9, 1994
This is your request for an advisory opinion from the Judicial Inquiry Commission. Your court reporter’s spouse is a member of a law firm. Your question is whether you will be disqualified from presiding over cases in which appears a member of your court reporter’s spouse’s law firm. This question was answered in Advisory Opinion 94-513. In that opinion, this Commission held that a judge is not disqualified from presiding over cases in which an attorney or any member of the attorney’s firm represents a party merely because the attorney’s wife is the judge’s court reporter. The mere fact that a party is related by blood or marriage to the court reporter of the judge does not automatically require the judge’s disqualification. The judge should inform the parties and their attorneys of the relationship between the judge and the court reporter to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

What do the rules say today, for your facts?

This opinion is from 1994. Ezel checks the current rules of professional conduct in your state against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.

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