Document canpre. Preamble

Canons of Judicial Ethics

Preamble

The first Code of Legal Ethics in the United States was formulated and adopted by the

Alabama State Bar Association in 1887. This first Code was adopted with only minor changes

by Georgia, Virginia, Michigan, Colorado, North Carolina, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Maryland,

Kentucky and Missouri between 1887 and 1906, and finally by the American Bar Association

in 1908. Recognizing Alabama’s leadership in the field of professional ethics and mindful that

the character and conduct of a judge should never be objects of indifference and that declared

ethical standards tend to become habits of life, the Supreme Court of Alabama deems it

desirable to formulate and establish those principles which govern the conduct of members

of the judiciary. The Supreme Court of Alabama accordingly adopts the following canons, as

a Code for judges and a declaration of that which the people of the State of Alabama have a

right to expect of them.