Opinion ID: 1191562
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Drinking Habits

Text: Biggins testified that he drinks two to three bottles of beer a day and that he has no intention of changing that practice. Although the Commission made no finding that Judge Biggins is an alcoholic, the Commission did find that he has alcohol problems and a reputation as a heavy drinker. The Commission concluded that his alcohol problems and drinking habits do not uphold that higher standard of conduct expected of the judiciary. We agree with the Commission that Biggins' drinking habits are improper if they either interfere with his judicial functioning or degrade the reputation of the judicial office. However, despite the relatively high standard of conduct to which Biggins must conform, we do not find that Judge Biggins' drinking habits, standing alone, violate any of the Canons of Judicial Ethics or cause prejudice to the administration of justice or bring the judicial office into disrepute. First of all, we do not find that his drinking habits have affected his judicial performance. There is no finding that he ever drank while on the bench or prior to being on the bench; his testimony that he does his drinking after hours in a public place is credible. Furthermore, testimony clearly shows that he has always performed his job appropriately when called in to perform certain judicial duties after hours, even though occasionally he may have had alcohol on his breath. In addition to his obligation to adequately perform his official duties as justice of the peace, Biggins also must conduct himself in his personal life so as to protect the reputation of the judicial office. He has a duty to promote public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in compliance with Canons 1 and 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. We note that the burden on Biggins to maintain an exemplary personal life may be heightened due to the nature of the community in which he lives and works  Seligman and Ashfork are small, close communities where the activities of any one citizen are easily noticed and consequently, readily criticized. However, even in this restrictive context, drinking after office hours is a legal, socially acceptable activity for a judge as long as he stays within certain parameters of behavior. For example, it may taint the judicial office for a judge to cause disruption in public places while intoxicated. Here, aside from the DUI incident which we have already discussed, we only have evidence of a single 10-or-12-year-old event where Biggins may have been guilty of disorderly conduct while intoxicated. We do not find this one event to constitute sufficient evidence that Biggins' drinking habits or his reputation for drinking have had a negative effect on the administration of justice or on the public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary.