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.