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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Could a judge use a first cousin as a court reporter on a temporary basis?
The withdrawn 1993 answer said no under the cited reporter-kinship statute, but Opinion 94-513 later replaced it and permitted specified temporary assignments for justifiable cause.
Did a court reporter’s engagement or marriage to counsel automatically disqualify the judge?
The withdrawn 1993 joint answer found no automatic disqualification from the reporter’s relationship to counsel; Opinion 94-513 later replaced the five-opinion letter.
Did an engagement to the judge’s first cousin require recusal from the fiancé’s firm cases?
The withdrawn 1993 answer required recusal during engagement and marriage, subject to remission; Opinion 94-513 replaced this joint answer after the marriage with a revised analysis.
May a judge lease office space to the county school superintendent?
Opinion 93-485 allows the proposed lease but requires nonremittable recusal from any case involving the county board of education because the lease creates a landlord-tenant relationship.
Is a judge disqualified when counsel in a case belongs to the firm of a lawyer representing the judge elsewhere?
Opinion 93-484 finds no disqualification on the stated unrelated matters after the appearing lawyer withdrew, distinguishing direct representation of the judge from representation by the lawyer’s partner.
Must a judge disclose a partnership with appearing counsel that ended more than nine years earlier?
Opinion 93-483 finds no disclosure duty on the stated facts where the former partnership ended more than nine years earlier and the judge retained no interest in it or its fees.
How did the Commission treat excess judicial campaign funds for professional expenses, car phone costs, and correspondence?
Opinion 93-482 allowed specified professional and correspondence uses of campaign funds under its 1993 analysis; Opinion 08-894 later overruled its juror-appreciation-letter restriction in part.
Did earlier legal work and business dealings with a bank officer require recusal from the officer’s divorce?
Opinion 93-481 found no disqualification on its limited facts, but was later modified by Opinion 99-740’s two-year former-client disqualification rule.
May a full-time municipal judge also serve on the city council that appoints the judge?
Opinion 93-480 prohibits serving as municipal judge and council member for the same city, citing judicial independence, public confidence, outside-activity conflict, and political-activity Canons.
May a judge donate excess campaign funds to a charity?
Opinion 93-479 permits the donation only where the judge has no management or control role, receives no private benefit, and does not claim a personal charitable tax deduction.
Must a judge recuse from a divorce where a former client plans to use facts from a commitment proceeding the judge handled as counsel?
Opinion 93-478 requires recusal because the mother’s mental condition was relevant to both the prior commitment representation and the current custody dispute, making the matter in controversy related.
Must a judge recuse from a case against an insurer that the judge’s mother-in-law also sued in another circuit?
Opinion 93-477 finds no automatic recusal from the separate insurer suit, but requires nonremittable recusal if the judge has personal bias toward the insurer.
Must a judge recuse from a city’s case because a relative was a council member when the underlying events happened?
Opinion 93-476 says the former council membership alone does not disqualify the judge if the relative left before the judge became involved, though other facts may still require recusal.
May a judge hear cases involving a former partner with whom the judge still coauthors a law book?
Opinion 93-475 requires nonremittable recusal while the judge and appearing former partner continue to coauthor the book; frequent appearances may require ending the joint business relationship.
May a judge remain on a bank board that only advises and cannot approve loans or investments?
Opinion 93-474 permits the described advisory bank board role, but requires recusal when the bank is a party, with possible remission under Canon 3D.
Must a judge recuse when a special assistant attorney general in the brother’s firm advised the prosecution before indictment?
Opinion 93-473 finds no disqualification merely from that firm relationship where the judge’s brother did not participate in the defendant’s prosecution.
May a sitting judge seek help from attorneys and friends in pursuing a federal judgeship appointment?
Opinion 93-472 permits requesting that assistance while applying Canon 7 and Canon 2 limits and barring use of court staff or state-purchased property for the contacts.
May a judge teach Alabama drug laws and moot court at a police academy?
Opinion 93-471 permits the described law-related teaching, subject to impartiality, judicial dignity, and performance of judicial duties.
Should a judge recuse from a capital case when the brother’s firm includes assistant prosecutors and counsel to the victims’ estates?
Opinion 93-470 requires recusal for appearance and public-confidence reasons on the combined capital-case facts, although the described firm ties alone did not establish a substantially affected…
May a court mail an appearance-date notice directly to a represented party?
Opinion 93-469 says a court’s administrative notice of the appearance date to the party is not an improper ex parte communication, while observing that courtesy favors sending it to counsel.
What did the Commission originally say about choosing between fee-funded rehabilitation programs in sentencing?
Opinion 93-468 urged objective selection without favoritism or nonjudicial connections; Opinion 97-678 later expressly overruled it and permitted board service on the different nonprofit…
May a circuit judge hear a felony case after presiding over its preliminary hearing as a district judge?
Opinion 93-467 says a circuit judge may preside over a felony case after conducting its preliminary hearing as a district judge. It compares the probable-cause inquiry to issuing a warrant, which…
May an Alabama judge advertise in a local school yearbook or football program?
Opinion 93-466 permits a judge’s school yearbook or football-program ad identifying the judicial office and showing an incumbent in robes. An incumbent may state a judicial candidacy before…
Must a judge recuse after opposing counsel associates former partners of a deceased lawyer who gave the judge money?
Opinion 92-465 found no disqualification on the stated facts, where the former partners threatened to sue over the money and joined a pending case after a year. It found no further Canon 6…
May an Alabama judge teach and own a continuing-education seminar business for engineers and surveyors?
Opinion 92-464 says the proposed seminars and ownership interest do not violate the Canons if the judge honors the stated limits on impartiality, judicial duties, dignity, and exploitation of…
May a judge receive a pretrial release staff report about an alleged violation and issue an arrest warrant?
Opinion 92-463 rejects an informal staff report as a basis for the warrant but permits an ex parte warrant procedure based on a sworn complaint and probable-cause finding. The Commission did not…
Does a judge’s spouse working for a city-county library require recusal from cases involving the city?
Opinion 92-462 says the spouse’s library-director job and city payroll alone do not disqualify the judge in city cases. Recusal is required if the spouse has an interest that could be substantially…
Must a judge recuse when a company in which the judge owns a small interest would be paid only if plaintiffs win?
Opinion 92-461 found the judge disqualified because the company’s compensation was contingent on the plaintiffs’ success, giving the judge an interest in the outcome despite a small ownership share.…
May a new judge hear an unrelated criminal charge against a person the judge previously prosecuted?
Opinion 92-460 permits the judge to hear an unrelated later charge against the same defendant. For a later child-support case after a paternity prosecution, the answer depends on whether the support…
Must a judge recuse from a criminal case because the defendant is a plaintiff in another case where the judge was deposed?
Opinion 92-458 says the deposition and possible defense-witness role in an unrelated civil suit do not automatically disqualify the judge from the criminal case. The judge should recuse for personal…
Must a judge recuse because the insurer of the judge’s life and property is a party to the case?
Opinion 92-457 says the insurance relationship alone does not disqualify the judge under the stated interinsurance-exchange facts. Recusal is required if the outcome could substantially affect the…
May pretrial release staff privately tell a judge about an alleged release violation and ask to revoke release?
Opinion 92-456 says an informal staff report and revocation request to the judge is an improper ex parte communication under Canon 3A(4). The official PDF marks it modified and clarified by Opinion…
Must a judge recuse from a city wrongful-death case because the judge co-owns land with a city police officer?
Opinion 92-455 found no disqualification where the co-owner police officer was not a defendant and the judge had no identified interest substantially affected by the case. Coownership alone did not…
May a judge finish a divorce case after a party’s lawyer withdraws from a separate matter involving the judge’s spouse?
Opinion 92-454 says the lawyer’s simultaneous work for the judge’s spouse created a nonremittable impartiality concern, but the judge could finish the unrelated divorce case once that lawyer…
May a full-time municipal judge research and draft felony appeal briefs for another lawyer without client contact?
Opinion 92-459 says the full-time municipal judge may not take the paid research and brief-writing role, even if framed as paralegal work. The Commission cited appearance and influence concerns and…
Does naming a judge as a possible witness in the pending case itself require recusal?
Opinion 92-453 says a litigant cannot require recusal merely by naming the judge as a potential witness during pending litigation. A judge who knows material facts or may be a material witness is…
Does a defendant’s counterclaim against the presiding judge over a ruling automatically require recusal?
Opinion 92-452 says the judge was not disqualified merely because a defendant filed a counterclaim against the judge based on a partial-summary-judgment ruling. A later personal bias or prejudice…
What did Alabama Opinion 92-451 originally say about a divorce lawyer who also handled the judge’s spouse’s DHR case?
Opinion 92-451 originally required recusal because the lawyer appearing in the judge’s court also acted for the judge’s spouse in a pending support case. The official PDF marks it withdrawn by…
Do the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics apply to municipal court magistrates?
Opinion 92-450 says the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics do not apply to municipal court magistrates. The Commission described them as administrative officers with limited judicial powers rather…
Must a judge recuse because a party appealed the judge’s order and challenged it in federal court?
Opinion 92-449 found no disqualification from the appeal and federal challenge alone. Unless the contest produced personal bias or prejudice against the party, the Commission said Canon 3 required…
Does a party’s complaint against the judge or the judge’s explanation in court require recusal?
Opinion 92-447 says neither the party’s Judicial Inquiry Commission complaint nor the judge’s described explanation of potential liability automatically disqualifies the judge. Recusal is required…
May a judge give Martindale-Hubbell a confidential recommendation for a lawyer who often appears before the judge?
Opinion 92-448 permits the requested confidential recommendation even when the lawyer appears often, where the judge does not volunteer it and the directory does not disclose it to the lawyer.
How long did Opinion 92-446 say the judge should recuse from cases involving a particular law firm?
Opinion 92-446 said the judge should continue recusing from cases involving any member of the identified law firm until January 1993. It withheld the specific facts under the Commission’s…
Could county circuit judges hear a challenge to new fees and representation districts affecting them?
Opinion 92-445 disqualified all the county circuit judges because they lived in a district the plaintiffs claimed was underrepresented, in addition to paying the challenged fees. The common fee…
Does a judge’s relative working as a clerk at a party’s law firm require recusal?
Opinion 92-444 says the employment alone does not require recusal. The judge must assess the relative’s work and any affected interest; mere observation at a deposition followed by discussion with…
Must a judge recuse when a party’s law firm represents the judge in a pending ethics investigation?
Opinion 92-443 required recusal from cases involving any member of the four-lawyer firm on its unusual facts, and said the concern could not be remitted. The official PDF points to Opinion 92-446 on…
Must a circuit judge recuse because Supreme Court justices joined a case and the judge may buy campaign advertising in the future?
Opinion 92-442 found no basis for the circuit judge’s recusal. Future campaign advertising was too speculative, and the Supreme Court justices’ supervisory roles did not disqualify the trial judge…
May a district judge help one lawyer publicize an offer to represent indigent speeding defendants?
Opinion 92-441 rejects all three proposed routes: allowing the lawyer to announce the offer in court, announcing it for the lawyer, or telling individual defendants. The Commission identified…
May a circuit judge certify a father’s informed and voluntary consent on a Wisconsin adoption form?
The Commission found nothing unethical in the judge’s certification after questioning the father and finding his consent informed and voluntary. The possibility of later litigation if the father…
Must a judge in the Air Force Reserve recuse from cases affecting military retirement, pay, or benefits?
The Commission required recusal from any case that could affect the judge’s military retirement, pay, or benefits. It concluded that this disqualification should not be waived under the particular…
May Alabama district and circuit judges join the State Employees Association or its political action committee?
The Commission concluded that the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics do not prohibit membership in either the Alabama State Employees Association or its political action committee. It cautioned…
Must a judge recuse from a civil case involving the lawyer defending a former secretary accused of taking the judge’s funds?
The Commission required recusal in the described civil case because the former secretary’s defense lawyer represented one party and the judge’s own lawyer’s firm represented the other. It said this…
May a retired district judge lobby for judicial retirement benefits or other bills affecting the courts?
The Commission said a retired judge not serving in active duty status was not barred by the Canons from lobbying. It also said an active retired judge could communicate with legislators on…
May a district judge serve food at a Junior League fundraiser after being identified as a judge on the invitation?
The Commission found no Canon violation in the described service, with cautions that the judge act with dignity and avoid appearing to endorse a restaurant or other commercial participant.
Must a judge who bought gas from a defendant utility recuse from a customer rate class action?
The Commission treated a possible rate reduction or refund as an “other interest,” rather than a defined financial interest, and called for recusal if the outcome could substantially affect the…
May a full-time elected judge teach a law-related course part time?
The Commission said yes if teaching does not cast doubt on the judge’s impartiality, detract from the dignity of office, or interfere with judicial duties.
Is a judge disqualified when an attorney appearing before the judge leases office space to the judge’s spouse?
The Commission found the judge disqualified when the lawyer appearing before the judge was the spouse’s landlord, although the judge was not a party to the lease. Its remission advice was later…
Did a judge’s former representation of a party in accident cases require recusal from that party’s separate property lawsuit?
On the facts presented, Opinion 91-431 found no disqualification from the unrelated property suit. The official PDF marks it modified by Opinion 99-740, which later adopted a two-year…
May a circuit judge continue serving on a county port authority board?
The Commission concluded that Canon 2A prohibited a circuit judge from serving as a port authority director because state law barred state officers from that board and the Alabama Constitution…
May a district judge who hears police cases join a city committee studying improvements to the police department?
The Commission found no Canon violation in joining the described city committee, despite the judge regularly hearing cases brought by the police department. It cited Canon 4’s encouragement of…
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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.