Opinion ID: 1191562
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ownership of Black Cat Bar

Text: Biggins owns the Black Cat Bar in Seligman. A drinking establishment is a legitimate business operation; in and of itself, ownership of a bar is not an improper business venture for a judge. We find that mere ownership of the bar has no relevance to whether Biggins' drinking habits or reputation as a heavy drinker affected his judicial performance. One can be a proprietor of a bar and not drink at all, much less drink to excess. Nevertheless, we do find that Biggins' ownership of the Black Cat Bar could be a matter of concern for other reasons. Seligman has a limited number of drinking establishments. As justice of the peace, Biggins has the responsibility of hearing matters that involve the use of alcohol, such as DUI cases and disturbance of the peace cases that occur in his jurisdiction. Some of those cases may involve people who immediately before being arrested were customers at the Black Cat Bar. It would be a conflict of interest for Biggins to hear these cases. We do not find any concrete evidence that such a conflict has already occurred or even that Biggins' ownership of the bar has caused him to be biased generally in cases involving offenders who have been drinking. Therefore, we are reluctant at this time to rule that Biggins' ownership of the Black Cat Bar is an inherent conflict with his office as justice of the peace.