The Judicial Inquiry Commission has considered your request for an opinion concerning
whether under the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics a judge is disqualified from sitting
in a criminal proceeding where the defendant has filed suit against the judge in federal
court under 42 U.S.C. 1983 seeking monetary damages against the judge. Additional
facts show that while the federal action is still pending, the federal magistrate has
recommended that the suit against the judge be dismissed as frivolous.