JUDICIAL ETHICS ADVISORY OPINION SUMMARIES May-June

JUDICIAL ETHICS ADVISORY OPINION SUMMARIES
May-June 2019

Alaska Advisory Opinion 2019-1

http://www.acjc.alaska.gov/advopinions.html#2019-01

Disqualification: Former public defender A former public defender is disqualified from matters involving former clients for 2 years after becoming a judge unless the disqualification is waived but is not disqualified from cases against the state or a municipality or from cases in which the public defender’s office appears.

Arizona Advisory Opinion 2019-1

http://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/137/ethics_opinions/2019/ethics%20opinion%2019-01.pdf

Unsolicited donation for problem-solving court incentives A court may accept unsolicited monetary donations from a charitable organization to purchase incentives such as gift cards and bus passes for participants in problem-solving courts.

Florida Advisory Opinion 2019-17

http://www.jud6.org/LegalCommunity/LegalPractice/opinions/jeacopinions/2019/2019- 17.html

Disqualification: Parents’ former law firm, parents’ tenant

A judge is not required to disqualify from cases involving her lawyer-parent’s former law firm. A judge is not automatically recused from cases involving a law firm that leases a building from

her parent if her parent’s interest can be classified as de minimis.

Writing book A judge may write a book about family law courts and the mental health issues sometimes

associated with them, specifically, the “warning signs” that judges and litigants should be

concerned about, and may actively promote the book as long as he does not use the prestige of office to promote the book and the judge, his judicial assistant, and members of his family do not sell the book to any member of the Bar.

Free stay at resort A judge may accept a friend's offer of a free stay in a suite that has been provided to the friend by an attorneys' association holding a conference at a resort when the judge is disqualified from cases involving the friend. Illinois Advisory Opinion 2019-1 Participation in issue-related gatherings A judge may participate in a “March for Science” that is centered on matters that are unlikely to come before the court. To determine whether to participate in an issue-related gathering, a judge should thoughtfully examine whether the issues might be likely to come before the court or adversely impact judicial independence or the appearance of impropriety or bias.

Indiana Advisory Opinion 1-2019

https://www.in.gov/judiciary/jud-qual/files/jud-qual-adops-1-19.pdf

Retiring and senior judge: Public endorsements A judicial officer who is retiring may not publicly endorse any candidate for public office

including a successor candidate for the retiring judge’s seat. A senior judge may publicly

endorse candidates for public office but may not use her judicial title or court resources (such as wearing a judicial robe) to bolster such endorsements.

Maryland Advisory Opinion Request 2019-13

https://mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/import/ethics/pdfs/2019-13.pdf

Interview with juvenile judge sentenced With conditions, a judge who re-sentenced a person for a murder committed while the person was a juvenile may, after the person’s probation has ended, participate in a brief e-mail interview that will be published in the person’s memoir.

Maryland Advisory Opinion Request 2019-14

https://mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/import/ethics/pdfs/2019-14.pdf

Clerk accepting salary advance A judge may not permit an incoming law clerk to accept a salary advance from the law firm for which the law clerk will be working after the clerkship.

Nebraska Advisory Opinion 2019-1

https://supremecourt.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/ethics-opinions/Judicial/19-1.pdf

Ex parte communications A judge may not have ex parte communications when the courts are closed over the weekend

and holidays with a county attorney about an arrestee’s criminal record for the purpose of

setting an appearance bond. New Mexico Advisory Opinion 2018-8

http://jec.unm.edu/manuals-resources/advisory-opinions/Advisory_Opinion_18-08.pdf

Disqualification: Judge is defendant in lawsuit A judge who is a defendant in a writ proceeding brought by candidates who unsuccessfully applied for the position of domestic relations commissioner is not disqualified from other cases involving those candidates.

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New Mexico Advisory Opinion 2018-9

http://jec.unm.edu/manuals-resources/advisory-opinions/Advisory_Opinion_18-09.pdf

Part-time judge: Use of title An attorney may identify himself as a probate judge on his law office web-site, but his bio on the court’s web-site should not describe his practice beyond a limited disclosure of his experience.

New York Advisory Opinion 2018-168

https://www.nycourts.gov/legacyhtm/ip/judicialethics/opinions/18-168.htm

Leadership in bar associations; governmental task force; lecturing at private law school A judge may serve in leadership positions in bar associations, including as an officer, director, committee chair, or non-legal advisor to a local or national bar association. A judge may serve on a governmental task force to address the impacts of closing a prison facility if its members represent a broad spectrum of interests and it will focus on planning an orderly transition rather than fielding complaints. A judge may teach or lecture part-time at a private law school and accept reasonable compensation; if the compensation exceeds $150, the judge must file a report at least annually with the court clerk’s office. The judge may discuss cases during a law school class unless the case is pending before her or in her jurisdiction.

Part-time judges: Disqualification

Where a town justice’s law firm formerly had a business relationship with another firm

involving uncompensated courtesy referrals, the judge is disqualified from all cases in which the other firm appears for 2 years from the date the relationship terminated, subject to remittal after full disclosure provided no party is appearing without counsel.

Part-time judges: Disqualification

Where the town attorney has become “of counsel” to a town justice’s law firm, the town justice

is disqualified from all cases in which the town is a party, including town code enforcement cases. If there is any likelihood that town code cases will come before the court, the town justice must resign from one of the positions.

Part-time judges: Non-legal employment A part-time judge who is also a full-time college professor may participate in an academic research project analyzing data from the centralized arraignment court’s first year of operation and accept compensation from the college for this work pursuant to a grant administered by the office of court administration.

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New York Advisory Inquiry 2019-37

Campaign fund-raising

A judicial candidate’s campaign committee may use an electronic event invitation system that

charges 2% of the ticket price per ticket to distribute fund-raising invitations and sell tickets. New York Advisory Opinion 2019-38

Part-time judges: Non-legal employment A part-time judge may not serve as a fire investigator in the county where she presides.

Part-time judges: Community activity A part-time judge may not serve on an advisory committee that makes recommendations to the district attorney regarding a convicted offender’s application to vacate a prior conviction even if the judge will not be personally identified in the recommendation and the district attorney has full authority over her response to the application before the court.

Disqualification: Co-judge’s spouse, law firm partners

A judge is not disqualified from cases in which her co-judge’s spouse, a police officer, appears. A part-time town justice should not permit her co-judge’s law firm partners or associates to practice before her.

Disciplinary responsibilities: Attorney A judge is required to report an attorney who made false claims about the judge in affidavits in a case in which the attorney is appearing pro se and in other unrelated proceedings brought against the judge and is required to recuse from the matter but may in his discretion wait to report until the proceeding ends.

Reporting criminal conduct

A support magistrate may report a litigant’s apparently criminal conduct to law enforcement

but is not required to do so.
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Disqualification: Co-judge’s caseload A town justice whose co-judge is unavailable to handle any cases may deposit and transmit fine money received in cases previously adjudicated by her co-judge in fulfilment of statutory and regulatory directives but, before handling her co-judge’s caseload, must check for conflicts and disqualify herself when necessary.

Disciplinary responsibilities: Attorney A judge who received correspondence from opposing attorneys in a case stating differing views on whether a suspended attorney was practicing law is not required to take any action unless the judge is satisfied that she had information about a substantial likelihood that the lawyer committed a substantial violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct and is not required to investigate.

Disqualification

A judge who “so ordered” the parties’ settlement stipulation may preside in an application to

enforce the stipulation and at an evidentiary hearing to resolve possible ambiguities if he has

no extra-judicial knowledge of the parties’ intentions.

Displaying rainbow flag A judge may not display a rainbow flag or rainbow heart sticker on the bench or in the courtroom to communicate to individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, transgender, or queer that

they are in a “safe, affirming and inclusive space.”

Disqualification: Relative is police officer A judge is disqualified from vehicle and traffic law matters when the police officer who issued the infraction is a first-degree relative.

Campaign advertisements A judicial candidate may not use a stock photograph of strangers with a banner that reads “Re-

Elect Judge [Name] for Us!” on his campaign materials.

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Reporting conduct A judge is not required to report to the district attorney’s office that the diversion program

coordinator at the district attorney’s office, who is not an attorney, advised a defendant who

had pled guilty by mail to change the plea to not guilty so that the defendant could enter the diversion program, but may do so.

Disqualification: Relative is undersheriff A judge whose second-degree relative is undersheriff (1) may not preside in matters involving

the county sheriff’s department unless the disqualification is remitted but (2) may conduct

centralized arraignments not involving the county sheriff even at the sheriff’s offices. New York Advisory Opinion 2019-61

Community service A town justice may require a defendant to perform community service with the town government provided it is lawful to do so.

Renting apartment to court officer A judge may rent an apartment to a court officer who sometimes serves in his court.

South Carolina Advisory Opinion 6-2019

https://www.sccourts.org/advisoryOpinions/html/06-2019.pdf

Staff: Disqualification A judge may perform routine administrative functions in matters in which the law firm representing his secretary appears.

Staff: Disqualification A judge does not need to disqualify the docket clerk from cases prosecuted by the law enforcement officer with whom he is involved or to disclose the relationship.

Staff: Other employment

A municipal court judge’s former clerk who is now working as a paralegal for the city solicitor’s

office may not continue working weekends as a clerk for the bond judge on an emergency basis.

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Washington Advisory Opinion 2019-2

http://www.courts.wa.gov/programs_orgs/pos_ethics/?fa=pos_ethics.dispopin&mode=1902

Donating item to auction A judicial officer may donate an item to a charitable auction as long as her name or participation is not associated with the donated item but may not donate a drinks and hor d'ouerves event in her new home. The judicial officer's spouse may donate to the auction unless the gift or service donated features their shared residence or includes personal interaction with the judicial officer, which members of the legal community are aware of.

Washington Advisory Opinion 2019-3

https://www.courts.wa.gov/content/publicupload/eclips/2019%2006%2024%20Ethics%20Opin ion%2019-03.pdf

Staff: Pro bono service Court employees who are licensed members of the bar may volunteer their services to a pro bono publico service program even in a representative capacity outside of regular hours of employment, but, before deciding whether to allow a court employee to provide pro bono services, a judicial officer should consider whether the court has a policy related to outside

employment or volunteer work, the nature of the court employee’s role with the court, the

nature of participation in the service, whether participation will lead to frequent disqualification of the judicial officer, and whether staff participation may convey the impression that the court employee is in a position to influence the judge or is expressing the judge’s views on pending or impending cases.

West Virginia Advisory Opinion 2019-1

http://www.courtswv.gov/legal-community/advisory-opinions.htm

New judge A judge may receive payments from her former law firm pursuant to an operating agreement that pre-dated her appointment to the bench but must disclose the payments in any case involving the firm as long as the payments continue.

Government commission A magistrate judge may not serve on the county fire board.

A judge cannot disclose to the future employer of the respondent-father in an abuse and neglect case that the father tested positive for methamphetamine.

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Family issues A judge’s spouse may act as a poll worker for a municipal election.

Legislator running for judge A member of the House of Delegates whose term ends in 2020 may run for magistrate and retain her legislative seat until taking the oath of office for magistrate in January 2021.

Part-time judge law firm appearing before other judges A mental hygiene commissioner’s law partner may not appear in front of other commissioners in guardianship cases unless the mental hygiene commissioner’s authority is limited to involuntary hospitalization hearings, the mental hygiene commissioner does not act as a factfinder in any guardianship/conservator matters, and the mental hygiene commissioner disqualifies himself when a conflict develops.

Financial activities A magistrate judge should not open a pawn shop.

Disqualification: Conduct as legislator A judge who oversaw legislation that made West Virginia a right-to-work state while serving as a member of the House of Delegates must voluntarily recuse himself from any appeal from a decision challenging the right-to-work laws.