May a circuit judge remain on a local bar executive committee that investigates attorney grievances?

Plain-English summary

A circuit judge asked whether appointment to the bench permitted continued service on a local bar association’s executive committee, which considered grievance complaints against attorneys.

The Commission says Canon 4 generally permits judges to participate in organizations devoted to improving the law and legal system. It concludes that this executive-committee role should end when it involves investigating or resolving complaints against local lawyers. That work could cast doubt on the judge’s ability to decide cases impartially and conflict with the judge’s Canon 3B(3) disciplinary responsibility.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996, 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: Does Canon 4 forbid all bar association service by a judge?

A: No. The opinion says a sitting judge may generally continue participating in a local bar organization under Canon 4.

Q: What feature of this committee made continued service improper?

A: It required participation in the investigation or resolution of grievances against local attorneys, raising impartiality and Canon 3B(3) concerns.

Background and rules framework

The opinion quotes Canon 4’s permission for quasi-judicial activities related to improving the law, subject to impartiality and judicial duties. It also cites Canon 3B(3)’s duty to take or initiate appropriate disciplinary measures for lawyer misconduct personally known to the judge.

Citations and references

Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics:

• Canon 4, Canon 3B(3).

See also

• AL Judicial Ethics Op. 96-618: Judge Letter on Lawyer Grievance

Source

• Landing page: Alabama JIC advisory opinions
• Original PDF: Advisory Opinion 96-589
• Canon history: Alabama JIC, Canons of Judicial Ethics

Original opinion text

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

96-589
Judicial Inquiry Commission
800 SOUTH MCDONOUGH STREET
SUITE 201
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36104
January 26, 1996
The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an advisory opinion as to whether a circuit judge may continue to serve on the executive committee of a local bar association that considers grievance complaints against attorneys after appointment to the bench. The answer to your inquiry is controlled primarily by Canon 4, which provides in pertinent part as follows: A judge, subject to the proper performance of his judicial duties, may engage in the following quasi-judicial activities, if in so doing he does not cast doubt on his capacity to decide impartially any issue that may come before him:

C. He may serve as a member, officer, or director of an organization or governmental agency devoted to the improvement of the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice ... While a sitting judge may generally continue to participate in a local bar organization after appointment or election to the bench, and indeed is encouraged to do so under Canon 4, it is the opinion of this Commission that a judge should not continue to serve on the executive committee of a local bar association when such position requires the judge to participate in the investigation and/or resolution of grievance complaints against local attorneys. Such participation could too easily lead to situations in which doubt could be cast upon the judge’s ability to decide cases coming before him impartially. Further, such participation could conflict with a judge’s responsibility under Canon 3B(3) to take or initiate appropriate disciplinary measures against a lawyer for unprofessional conduct of which the judge has personal knowledge. Very truly yours, JUDICIAL INQUIRY COMMISSION