If a lawyer is also a city judge, what matters are off-limits for him and his firm, and when must he recuse from cases involving firm clients?

Plain-English summary

Attorney A was the city judge of City X and a member of the law firm of B and A. The inquiry posed five questions about whether the Canons would be violated if A or his partner B represented a party in a civil suit arising from a transaction whose criminal responsibility A had determined as city judge; represented criminal defendants in another court where the arresting officers were city police; represented the city's civil-service employees at Civil Service Commission hearings; represented defendants convicted in the city court on appeal; or if A heard cases in the city court where a party (defendant or prosecuting witness in an auto-collision case) was or had been a client of A, B, or the firm.

The Committee answered all five questions in the affirmative. The first situation would violate Canon 33, and the situations described in all five questions would violate ABA Canon of Judicial Ethics No. 31. The vote was 6-0.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1955, under the former Texas Canons of Ethics, which the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct replaced effective January 1, 1990, and before the adoption of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct that now governs judges. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Could a city judge's firm sue civilly over a matter he had decided criminally as judge?

A: No. The Committee held that representing a civil litigant in a suit ancillary to criminal proceedings the city judge determined would violate Canon 33 (6-0).

Q: Could the firm defend criminal cases where city police were the arresting officers?

A: No. The Committee held that improper, along with representing city civil-service employees before the Civil Service Commission and handling city-court convictions on appeal.

Q: Could the city judge hear a case involving one of the firm's clients?

A: No. The Committee held it improper for him to hear cases as city judge where a party is or has been a client of the firm, citing ABA Judicial Canon 31.

Background and rules framework

The opinion interprets former Texas Canon 33 of the Canons of Ethics of the State Bar of Texas and ABA Canon of Judicial Ethics No. 31, as applied to a lawyer who simultaneously serves as a city judge. Conduct of this kind is now governed primarily by the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct. The nearest lawyer-side analogs are ABA Model Rule 1.12 (former judge or adjudicative officer) and Model Rule 1.10 (imputation of conflicts within a firm).

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• MR 1.12 (former judge or adjudicative officer), as the nearest modern analog
• MR 1.10 (imputation of conflicts), as the modern analog
• Texas Canon 33
• ABA Canon of Judicial Ethics No. 31, cited by the opinion

See also

• TX Ethics Op. 125: Justice of the Peace Practicing Law
• TX Ethics Op. 173: County Judge Practicing Law
• TX Ethics Op. 151: County Judge Later Defending a Suit
• TX Ethics Op. 135: Judge Disqualification and a Relative as Counsel

Source

• Landing page: https://www.legalethicstexas.com/resources/opinions/opinion-116/
• Original PDF: https://tcle-web.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/Opinion_116.pdf

Original opinion text

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

QUESTION PRESENTED

Attorney A is the city judge of the City of X and is a member of the law firm of B and A. Would it violate the Canons of Ethics:
For Attorney A or Attorney B to represent a party to a civil suit arising out of a transaction or occurrence the criminal responsibility for said transaction or occurrence having been determined by Attorney A in his judicial capacity as city judge?
For Attorney A or Attorney B to represent defendants in a criminal action in another court where the arresting officers are city policemen?
For Attorney A or Attorney B to represent Civil Service employees of the city at hearings before the Civil Service Commission of the city?
For Attorney A or Attorney B to represent defendants convicted in the city court upon appeal to a higher court?
For Attorney A to hear cases in the city court as city judge where the party involved, either as defendant or prosecuting witness in an automobile collision ease, is or has been a client of either Attorney A or Attorney B or of the firm of B and A?

18 Baylor L. Rev. 241 (1966)

RETIREMENT FROM JUDICIAL POSITION - PRIVATE LAW PRACTICE BY JUDGES
Where an attorney is a city judge and also a member of a law firm it would be improper for him or another member of his firm:
To represent civil litigants in a suit ancillary to criminal proceedings determined by him in his capacity as city judge.
To represent defendants in a criminal action in another court where the arresting officers are city policemen,
To represent Civil Service employees of the city at hearings before the Civil Service Commission of the city,
To represent defendants convicted in the city court upon appeal to a higher court.
It would also be improper for the attorney to hear cases as city judge where the party involved is or has been a client of the firm.

Canon 33. A.B.A. Judicial Canon 31.

The committee is of the opinion that all five questions should be answered in the affirmative, since the first question presents a situation which would violate Canon 33 and the situation described in all five questions would violate ABA Canon of Judicial Ethics No. 31. (6-0)

Tex. Comm. On Professional Ethics, Op. 116 (1955)