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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Did replacing appointed defense counsel without stating a reason violate Canon 2(A) on the facts presented?
The Commission said the described circuit-court appointment of different counsel did not violate Canon 2(A).
What did Opinion 82-126 originally say about using court resources for juror commendation letters?
The Commission originally barred such use of court stationery, stamps, or personnel absent a court rule or presiding circuit judge’s express permission; the official PDF marks the opinion overruled…
Did a judge’s relative working as a paralegal for counsel’s firm automatically require recusal?
No. The Commission said the employment alone did not require recusal, though the relative’s connection to the case and other facts could cause impartiality reasonably to be questioned.
Did the modified Opinion 81-124 require a municipal judge to resign before seeking elective nonjudicial office?
No. In its May 1982 modification, the Commission said the cited constitutional provisions controlled and neither the Constitution nor the Canons required that resignation.
Must a judge teaching part-time at a university recuse when the university is a party to a proceeding?
Yes. The Commission said the judge should disqualify himself under Canon 3C from proceedings involving the institution that employed him because impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
Did sharing an airplane with a litigant’s relative require the judge’s disqualification?
The Commission said the indirect business relationship alone did not require recusal under Canon 3C, though the judge could choose to disqualify himself.
Could a district judge called for jury duty receive the same expense allowance as other jurors?
The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit a district judge serving as a citizen juror from receiving the same expense allowance as other citizens.
Could a judge run a part-time distributorship and sponsor other distributors?
The Commission said business ownership was possible if it did not conflict with Canon 5C, and that a definite answer required the specific facts of the operation.
Could a part-time municipal judge advise or represent the same municipality as its attorney?
The Commission said the cited statute appeared to bar the additional municipal employment; if so, such employment would also violate Canon 2A, but it left statutory application to the Attorney General.
Could a judge be a member of a local chamber of commerce?
The Commission permitted chamber membership but said circumstances under Canons 2 and 5 could later require the judge to leave the organization.
Could a judge join the American Arbitration Association and act as an arbitrator or mediator?
The Commission permitted membership on the assumption that the association was a professional organization, but said the judge could not act as an arbitrator or mediator in any case.
Did shared mortgage, tax, and insurance payments with former law partners violate the Canons when jointly owned property produced no income?
The Commission said the arrangement was not prohibited on the stated facts so long as no problems arose with mortgage, tax, or insurance payments.
Could a new judge or immediate family receive rent from former law partners still using the judge’s office building?
The Commission said that rental arrangement was prohibited under Canon 5C(l) and would disqualify the judge in proceedings involving the former partners’ firm under Canon 3C(l).
Did the substitute Opinion 81-105 prohibit a judge from selling jointly owned former-firm books and equipment to a public institution?
The Commission said it knew of no statute or Canon barring the described sale to a state or county institution, but called attention to §13A-10-62; it also did not bar a sale of books to the former…
Could a judge accept a fee paid after taking office for legal services performed before becoming a judge?
The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit payment for the earlier legal services for pre-judgeship services where a prior fee agreement existed.
Could an active Alabama district judge practice law in another state?
No. The Commission read Canon 5F to prohibit an active judge from practicing law in Alabama or any other jurisdiction.
Could a judge sue former clients for attorney fees earned before taking the bench?
The Commission said a judge could seek the same legal remedies in court as other citizens, including a suit for unpaid fees from the judge’s former practice.
Could a judge serve on a criminal justice reform commission formed by a political action group?
The Commission permitted service on the described panel under Canons 5G and 7A(3), which addressed improvement of law, the legal system, and administration of justice.
Could a judge buy stock in a corporation whose owners included an attorney who regularly practiced before the judge?
The Commission said the judge should not invest unless the arrangement complied with Canon 5C’s impartiality and recusal limits; the close business relationship could prohibit it.
Could a judge play a nominal-stakes card game with an attorney who practices before the judge?
The Commission permitted the described nominal-stakes game, but required recusal from the attorney’s cases if the judge became indebted to the attorney through the games.
Could members of a part-time municipal judge’s firm handle state-court cases investigated by municipal police, and what did the Commission say about the judge?
The Commission said the Canons permitted the judge’s representation if the matters had not previously been before that judge’s municipal court; it declined to advise the judge’s law firm colleagues.
Could a judge join fellow hunting club members in obtaining land by lease or another arrangement for hunting?
The Commission said that activity by the judge, in itself, did not violate the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics.
Could a judge serve as an officer in corporations that invested mainly in real estate?
The Commission said Canon 5C permitted managing investments and other remunerative activity subject to its restrictions; whether these officer roles violated it depended on each corporation’s facts.
Could a judge serve as an officer of a civic or charitable organization and solicit funds for it?
The Commission allowed the described officer roles but recommended against the judge personally fundraising; it said the Canons did not absolutely prohibit solicitation.
Could a judge continue serving as estate administrator for a fee while a former firm acted as counsel?
The Commission permitted service under Canon 5D if it did not interfere with judicial duties and said the judge’s administrator fee should be paid separately from the former firm’s legal fee.
Must a judge recuse when a school system’s lawsuit could affect the judge’s teacher daughter’s salary?
Yes. The Commission said the judge should recuse because the daughter had an interest that could be substantially affected by the lawsuit’s outcome.
Did the Canons allow retired judges on active or inactive status to serve in the Alabama Legislature?
The Commission said the Canons did not apply to inactive retired judges, but Canon 7A(2) barred retired judges on active status from legislative service; it left statutory and constitutional issues…
Were judges who knew a murder victim’s father personally disqualified from the defendant’s pending criminal cases?
Yes. On the stated close relationship, the Commission said Canon 3C required recusal from the capital-murder case and all other then-pending criminal cases against that defendant.
Under the 1981 answer, when did a judge have to recuse if a brother’s law partner was a part-time assistant district attorney?
The Commission originally required recusal only if that assistant prosecutor participated in preparing or trying the case and the judge knew of it; the official PDF marks the answer overruled or…
Did Canon 6C require a part-time municipal judge to file an economic-interest disclosure?
The Commission said part-time municipal judges were exempt from Canon 6C, but it did not interpret any separate filing duty under Alabama’s Ethics Law.
Must a judge who receives a county salary supplement recuse from every case involving the county?
No. The Commission said receipt alone did not disqualify the judge, though recusal could arise when the supplement was directly related to the case or substantially affected by its outcome.
What did the Commission originally say about recusal when a judge’s daughter or a member of her firm represented a party?
Opinion 80-96 said Canon 3C required disqualification in those circumstances. The Commission later listed it among earlier opinions overruled or modified to the extent inconsistent with Opinion 88-338.
May a judge sign a public statement supporting a partisan ticket that includes nonjudicial candidates?
The Commission said the proposed statement was not specifically prohibited by the Canons, but it called the conduct undesirable and said a judge should refrain from lending a name to support…
Did the 1980 opinion allow a judge to assess costs after dismissing a criminal case?
Opinion 80-94 said Canon 2A required a judge to follow Alabama law on costs but declined to decide that legal issue. The Commission withdrew the opinion in 1989 after identifying a statutory change.
May a judge be paid to manage investments for a medical professional association?
The Commission said the judge could manage the association’s investments if the work complied with all of Canon 5C, while warning that later facts could create a conflict it could not predict.
May a judge give a cocktail lounge owner a photograph of the judge for public display at the business?
No. The Commission said the judge should not provide the photograph for public display on the business premises under Canon 2.
Did Opinion 80-91 require recusal and bar appointment when a judge or spouse was related to an attorney within the fourth degree?
Yes. The Commission answered all three questions affirmatively: cases involving a related defense or prosecution attorney and appointment of a related lawyer for indigent defense.
Did a son’s employment in the district attorney’s office automatically disqualify a judge from all criminal cases?
No. The Commission said the judge was not automatically disqualified from criminal cases in which the son, an assistant district attorney, did not participate.
Could a judge try a criminal case when the judge’s son acted as assistant district attorney?
No. The Commission said the judge could not preside in a criminal case in which the judge’s son acted as assistant district attorney.
Could a judge try a criminal case when the judge’s brother or the brother’s partner represented the defendant?
The 1980 opinion said no. It treated both the brother and the brother’s partner as disqualifying; Opinion 88-338 later overruled or modified 80-88 to the extent of conflict.
Did the 1980 Canons and statute allow a retired Alabama district judge to practice law?
The Commission said the Canons did not prohibit the practice, but cited then-effective Alabama Code § 12-18-62 as prohibiting a district judge in the retirement fund from practicing law. Opinion…
What could an incumbent judge say about litigation while campaigning for judicial office?
The Commission permitted general references to court records, statistics, and procedures, while barring pending-case comments and advance rulings and generally discouraging comment on cases the…
Could an incumbent judge explain criminal rulings and sentences during a campaign?
The Commission allowed general references to court records, statistics, and procedures but said a judge should usually refrain from commenting on specific cases and could not comment on pending…
Could a judge write bar commissioners in support of a disbarred lawyer’s reinstatement?
The Commission said the amended Canon 2 commentary permitted the letter if the lawyer would not ordinarily appear before the judge. The official PDF marks the opinion overruled at least in part by 86-269.
Could an inactive retired circuit judge practice law under the 1980 Alabama Canons?
Yes. The Commission said an inactive retired judge was exempt from the Canons, but part-time active service on a nonmunicipal court would trigger Canon 5F’s practice prohibition.
Could the parties’ on-record consent remit disqualification when a party’s law partner represented the judge elsewhere?
No. The Commission said the described impartiality-based disqualification arose under general Canon 3C(l), while Canon 3D remittal applied only to Canon 3C(l)(c) and (d).
Did the Judicial Inquiry Commission have jurisdiction over a nonjudge candidate for judicial office?
No. The Commission said Canon 7C placed such a candidate under the Alabama Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction; it left questions about an incumbent judge’s campaign response for further study.
Did Opinion 80-81 decide whether a part-time municipal judge could also serve on the same city’s council?
No final answer on concurrent service was given. The Commission recalled Opinion 78-47’s constitutional exemption for part-time municipal judges and directed the remaining non-Canon questions to…
Could a district judge chair the board of a regional council on alcohol?
The Commission said Canon 5B allowed service as an officer of an educational, charitable, or civic organization, subject to its limits and provided the role did not affect impartiality or judicial duties.
Could a district judge be paid to referee or umpire local sports games?
Yes, if the activity did not interfere with judicial duties, impair impartiality, or exploit judicial office. The Commission said judicial duties had to take precedence.
Could an Alabama district judge run for district attorney without resigning the judgeship?
No. The Commission said district attorney was a nonjudicial office under Canon 7A(2), so the judge had to resign upon becoming a candidate.
Did the 1980 opinion require recusal whenever a judge’s brother or his firm represented a party?
Yes. Opinion 80-76 required recusal even when only a member of the brother’s firm appeared, and the official PDF marks the opinion overruled or modified by 88-338.
Did winning a store prize in a random drawing disqualify the judge from a later case involving the store?
No. The Commission said a judge who received a prize awarded by random drawing was not disqualified from later proceedings in which the prize donor was a party.
Did a judge need to recuse when a party’s lawyer was representing the judge in a separate lawsuit?
Yes. The Commission required disqualification while the lawyer represented the judge in another court; it said Canon 3C no longer required it after that litigation ended.
Did a judge’s daughter working as a teacher require recusal from every case involving her school board?
No. The Commission found no conflict from her employment alone; its exception was a proceeding in which the daughter had a direct interest.
Could a judge explain criminal and juvenile justice laws in a press interview?
Yes. The Commission said an interview explaining those systems did not violate Canon 4 so long as it did not cast doubt on the judge’s ability to decide cases impartially.
Could a retired judge sell jointly owned law books to a county law library?
The Commission found no Canon violation for a retired judge, but said the sale remained prohibited if the judge was on active status. It declined to interpret the cited statute.
Did the Commission’s March 1980 answer permit a judge to support a disbarred lawyer’s reinstatement by letter?
No. Opinion 80-70 treated the letter as prohibited voluntary character testimony under Canon 2C. Opinion 80-84 later overruled that answer after a Canon amendment.
Was a part-time municipal judge disqualified from a misdemeanor case because a lawyer whose partner was co-counsel with the judge in other cases represented the defendant?
No. On the circumstances described, the Commission found no reasonable question about the judge’s impartiality under Canon 3C.
Did the judge have to recuse when a first cousin’s spouse or a member of that lawyer’s firm represented a party?
Yes. The Commission placed the cousin’s spouse within the fourth degree by affinity and called for disqualification when that lawyer or another lawyer in the firm appeared; it said Canon 3D remittal…
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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.