In your letter of May 31, 1991, you request an opinion from the Judicial Inquiry
Commission on the following question: Can a district judge, who regularly presides
over cases brought by the Birmingham Police Department, serve on a special
committee created by the City Council “for the purpose of studying, researching, and
recommending proposals, ways and means of assisting the Birmingham Police
Department to more effectively carry out its overall mission and responsibilities of
enforcing law and order in the City of Birmingham and to formulate and propose
innovative programs to reduce and deter crime in all aspects of community life”?