Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission, with full citations and source links on every page.
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Must a judge recuse when a lawyer appearing in court buys a building from the judge and spouse on credit?
The Commission required recusal if the judge and spouse financed the lawyer’s purchase or remained loan guarantors, and the 1991 opinion said remission was possible. Opinion 11-905 later withdrew…
May a trial judge write, proctor, and grade Alabama bar examination essay questions?
The Commission said a judge may serve as an Alabama State Bar examiner and cited Canon 4’s allowance for activities improving the law, legal system, and administration of justice.
Is a judge disqualified whenever a lawyer from the judge’s brother’s firm appears, even if the brother has no direct role?
The Commission said shared firm membership alone did not automatically disqualify the judge. Recusal was required if other circumstances reasonably questioned impartiality or the brother had an…
Must a judge recuse because the judge and family hold insurance with Blue Cross when it is a witness or party?
The Commission said the family’s Blue Cross policy alone did not require recusal when the insurer was a witness or party. It treated ordinary policy ownership as lacking the substantial financial…
Could a court grant a consented judgment notwithstanding a fraud verdict to preserve a professional license?
The Commission found no violation of the Alabama Canons if the sole reason for granting the motion was the opposing party’s consent. It said the judgment should state that the verdict was set aside…
Must a judge recuse when the judge’s wife’s brother-in-law represents a party?
The Commission required disqualification whether the relative-lawyer’s fee was fixed or contingent. It said the Canon 3C(1)(d) disqualification could be remitted under Canon 3D’s specific procedures.
May a circuit judge hear an appeal from a case tried without a jury by the judge’s father in municipal court?
The Commission required recusal from appeals of nonjury municipal cases decided by the judge’s father. It said the father’s judicial reputation could be substantially affected by the appeal.
Is a judge automatically disqualified when a campaign treasurer or advisory committee member, or someone from their firm, represents a party?
The Commission said those campaign relationships alone did not disqualify the judge under the Canons as then written. Other circumstances reasonably questioning impartiality could require recusal,…
Did the Judicial Inquiry Commission decide whether a city council could remove a municipal judge before a four-year term ended?
No. The Commission declined to answer because its Rule 17 opinion authority covered the propriety of judges’ conduct under the Canons, not the city council’s power to remove a judge.
May a judge keep accumulated retirement funds in a former law firm’s Keough plan?
The Commission allowed the judge to keep accumulated funds if a separate sub-account was established, the judge paid its management fee, and the former firm made no further contributions on the…
Does a discretionary county salary supplement alone disqualify a judge from cases involving the county commission?
The Commission said a pending or granted local salary supplement alone did not disqualify the judge from county-commission cases, although other circumstances could. It expressly overruled Opinions…
Did a judge violate the Canons by hearing a divorce after recognizing a party who might have been prosecuted years earlier by the judge?
The Commission found no Canon violation on the stated facts: the possible prior prosecution was remote, the judge disclosed the possibility, both parties and counsel insisted on the judge hearing…
Is a judge disqualified when a lawyer from a firm employing the judge’s spouse as a secretary represents a party?
The Commission required recusal in any proceeding involving a lawyer from the spouse’s employer firm. It found the spousal employment relationship sufficient to reasonably question impartiality on…
May a judge hear a divorce-modification case after the judge’s lawyer son represented a party in the original divorce?
The Commission required disqualification because the son previously represented a party in the same divorce matter. It said this Canon 3C(1)(c) and (d) disqualification could be remitted under Canon 3D.
Must a district judge recuse from a child-support case in which the judge’s spouse previously represented the state?
The Commission required recusal from any proceeding in which the judge’s wife, an assistant district attorney, had previously participated. It said the disqualification could be remitted using Canon…
Could a judge sign an already drafted judgment after an appearing lawyer filed a tenant’s bankruptcy naming the judge’s partnership as creditor?
The Commission said the filing alone did not disqualify the judge from signing a substantially unchanged judgment drafted before the filing or before the judge learned of it. It required recusal…
May a circuit judge serve on the Presbyterian Church synod’s judicial committee?
The Commission found the described service permissible if it did not interfere with judicial duties or risk a conflict with them. The committee exercised no secular jurisdiction and had not heard a…
May a part-time municipal judge’s firm contract with the city to collect forfeited bail bonds?
The Commission found a conflict and said the firm’s collection contract was prohibited under several Canons. It would disqualify the judge in forfeiture cases and interfere with judicial duties; the…
When do lawyer relatives’ interests in their firms require a judge to recuse from cases handled by those firms?
The Commission required recusal when a lawyer relative represented a party or had a substantially affected interest. It required recusal for all appearances by the profit-sharing firm and a…
Should a district judge sign an interagency domestic-violence agreement prescribing court case priority and police-registry review?
The Commission said the judge should refrain from signing the proposed agreement. Preset scheduling priorities and a police-registry review duty would impair the appearance of judicial independence…
May a substitute part-time municipal judge represent clients in the same court where the judge is on call to sit?
The Commission said no. A substitute judge subject to call in that court could not practice there because the resulting disqualifications conflicted with Canon 5C’s direction to minimize disqualification.
Did the Commission originally require recusal because a county commission could grant judges a salary increase?
Yes. Opinion 90-406 required recusal while the commission had unexercised discretionary authority to grant a salary increase. The official PDF is marked overruled by Opinion 91-416, which held that…
Does a custody litigant’s federal motion to add the state judge as a defendant automatically disqualify the judge?
The Commission said the filing alone did not require recusal when it challenged the judge’s actions in the pending custody case. It cautioned that other facts, including actual personal bias arising…
May a part-time municipal judge who is also an assistant district attorney issue warrants returnable to municipal or district court?
The Commission permitted the judge to issue municipal arrest and search warrants returnable to either court, but barred the judge from acting as an attorney in matters where he had issued warrants…
Must circuit judges recuse from a lawsuit about expense allowances similar to their own allowances?
The Commission required recusal because the claim about combining lump-sum and per-diem allowances implicated statutes similar to those governing the judges’ own benefits. It said the…
May a judge accept the medical society’s standard honorarium for delivering its banquet keynote?
The Commission permitted the honorarium because it matched what prior nonjudge keynote speakers received, while applying Canons 5 and 6 limits on dignity, judicial duties, reasonable compensation,…
May a judge receive a contingent fee agreed to and earned through legal work before taking the bench?
The Commission permitted the judge to receive the prearranged contingent fee for work performed as a lawyer before assuming judicial office, on the stated facts.
Must a judge recuse whenever a firm employing the judge’s teenage daughter as a part-time clerk appears?
The Commission said the clerical employment alone did not require recusal. The judge had to assess the particular facts, and disqualification would follow if the daughter discussed the case or…
Does a fifth-degree family relationship to a party’s lawyer itself disqualify a judge?
No. The Commission said the described relative, the child of the judge’s father’s first cousin, was outside Canon 3C’s fourth-degree rule, so the relationship alone did not require recusal.
May a judge who presides over a personnel board’s appointing authority hear cases involving board members in their official capacity?
The Commission required recusal from proceedings involving Personnel Board members in their official capacity because the judge’s supervisory appointment role could reasonably call impartiality into…
May a judge writing a commercial legal treatise use a judicial title on the cover and advertising brochure?
The Commission permitted factual identification as judge or justice on the treatise and brochure, but said the brochure should contain only factual claims. It rejected the proposed “Expert Guidance…
Would the Canons permit a juvenile judge to participate in informal truancy adjustment if proposed court-rule amendments were adopted?
The Commission said the Canons would permit participation if the proposed amendments were adopted and expressly allowed judges in the process. It cautioned judges to observe Canon 3, particularly…
May a judge publish educational newspaper articles about juvenile justice and direct the payment to charity?
The Commission permitted the described articles if they did not cast doubt on the judge’s impartiality or give legal advice. It also said the Canons did not prohibit the newspaper’s donation of the…
May a family court judge serve on a United Way board without participating in fundraising?
The Commission permitted board service even though the organization primarily raised charitable funds, while discouraging the judge from soliciting funds and requiring attention to Canon 5B’s other limits.
May a judge use state bailiff funds to pay an eighteen-year-old daughter who has volunteered in the judge’s office?
The Commission said no. Paying the daughter as bailiff would first require the judge to appoint her, which the Commission said violated Canon 3B(4)’s merit and anti-nepotism limit as read with the…
How long did the judge’s truancy-case disqualification from a letter to parents last?
The Commission said the disqualification identified in Opinion 89-381 covered truancy cases arising in the school year when the letter was mailed and intended to be effective. It treated the program…
May a retired circuit judge work as a paid private mediator or arbitrator?
The Commission said the answer depends on active-duty status: retired judges generally were exempt from Canon 5E, but a retired judge serving full time on a state court had to comply with all…
Does a litigant’s threat to complain to the Judicial Inquiry Commission disqualify the judge?
The Commission said the threat alone did not disqualify the judge after the judge refused to discuss the pending case by telephone. It said recusal would be required if the judge actually felt…
May a trial judge give the State Bar Grievance Committee facts about defense counsel’s performance while the conviction is on appeal?
The Commission found no Canon prohibition on the judge submitting an assessment and facts known from the trial to the Grievance Committee, even though an appeal was pending and ineffective…
May a judge serve on a child advocacy center advisory board that includes fundraising and community speaking?
The Commission permitted service only if the judge complied with Canon 5’s restrictions on impartiality, judicial duties, likely litigation, fundraising, and investment advice. It said the judge…
May a judge serve on a local school committee recommending grading and student-evaluation policies?
The Commission said the Canons discouraged but did not categorically prohibit the service. It barred participation if the committee’s work would impair impartiality or judicial duties, including…
Does a litigant newspaper’s article about a possible investigation of the judge require recusal from the newspaper’s records case?
The Commission said the article alone did not require recusal in the pending sealed-records dispute. It said recusal would be required if the article caused the judge to develop personal bias…
Does a judge’s truancy letter or participation in an early warning program affect later truancy cases?
The Commission said the letter still raised disqualification even if it was not returned to the judge; disclosure and written consent could permit the judge to proceed. It allowed an early warning…
Must a judge recuse from a postconviction petition challenging an earlier conviction before that judge on unsupported bias claims?
The Commission found no disqualification where the petition offered only conclusory allegations of prejudice and an unduly harsh sentence, without facts supporting a reasonable question about impartiality.
Do mistaken nolle prosequi rulings violate the Canons, and may a judge grant one for personal or political favors?
The Commission found no ethics violation in the first two ruling scenarios as stated absent improper purpose, bad faith, or malice; it treated the third question as moot. It said granting a…
Must a criminal judge recuse because the defendant previously sued the judge and now challenges indigent-defense funding?
The Commission found no recusal on the stated facts: the earlier judicial-act suit had failed, and the pending official-capacity funding suit sought no damages. Personal bias or other facts…
May a judge take paid data-processing consulting work for a university outside the judge’s jurisdiction?
The Commission allowed the described contract because the university was not likely to have cases before the judge, provided the work did not impair impartiality or interfere with judicial duties.…
May a juvenile judge sign a truancy warning letter to parents and join an early intervention program?
The Commission said the judge-signed letter violated Canon 4 because it suggested prejudgment of later truancy cases. Its initial approval of the early intervention program was later clarified by…
Did a county’s discretionary salary supplement require recusal when the county was a party?
Opinion 89-380 required recusal even after the county granted the judges a $10,000 supplement. The official PDF marks it overruled by Opinion 91-416, which later rejected recusal based on a pending…
May a part-time municipal judge defend a police officer who appears as a witness or complainant in that judge’s court?
The Commission prohibited the judge from defending the officer and said the judge should discourage the firm from taking the representation. It reasoned that representing the officer would…
Must a judge recuse when a former firm represents a party in an accident case that did not arise during the judge's partnership?
The Commission found no disqualification on those facts because the former firm had not represented the party in that matter while the judge practiced there.
Does a law firm’s suit against a judge about ten years earlier require recusal from a current client matter?
The Commission said the old adversarial relationship alone did not disqualify the judge. The prior suit had caused the judge no detriment, and the Commission found no reasonable basis to question…
Did authority for a county to grant judges a salary supplement require recusal when the county sued?
Opinion 89-376 required recusal while the county had discretion to grant a $10,000 supplement. Its official PDF is marked overruled by Opinion 91-416, which said a pending or granted supplement…
Did the Commission retain its earlier opinion against assessing costs when a criminal case was dismissed?
No. The Commission withdrew Advisory Opinion 80-94 after citing legislation allowing a dismissal order to be conditioned on the defendant’s payment of docket fees and other costs.
Must a judge recuse when an appearing lawyer represents the judge’s niece as guardian ad litem in the judge’s father’s estate?
The Commission required recusal from cases involving that lawyer or the lawyer’s partner while the estate and the niece’s interest remained unresolved, because the judge and niece had potentially…
May one judge hear a divorce and related harassment cases involving the same people?
The Commission found no disqualification merely because the judge learned facts while handling one of the related cases. It said judicial experience from another case alone did not create the…
What did the Commission say a judge should do when an appearing lawyer’s Alabama license had lapsed?
The Commission said the judge should take whatever legal steps were needed to ensure appearing lawyers were properly licensed under the cited Alabama statute. It did not choose between letting the…
Does a judge’s safe deposit box at a bank party automatically disqualify the judge?
No. The Commission said the box alone does not require recusal unless the interest could be substantially affected by the case outcome. It described remission of that disqualification.
Does a daughter’s college money market fund at a bank party automatically disqualify the judge?
No. The Commission said the fund alone does not require recusal unless the interest could be substantially affected by the case outcome. It described remission of that disqualification.
Does a spouse’s small unsecured loan from a bank party automatically disqualify the judge?
No. The debtor relationship alone does not require recusal. The Commission identified special favors, personal bias, or an outcome that could substantially affect the loan as grounds for…
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Legal ethics opinions from the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are advisory, not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.