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Judicial Ethics and Conduct Steve Berenson Professor of Law Director, Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic Thomas Jefferson School of Law CALI eLangdell Press 2018 About the Author Professor Berenson teaches courses relating to legal ethics, family law, and directs the Thomas Jefferson Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic. He is the author of two family law course books, and numerous articles on subjects including access to justice, clinical legal education, veterans’ legal issues and government lawyer ethics. He serves as a Judge Pro Tem on the San Diego Superior Court, hearing cases in the Small Claims and Traffic Court Divisions. He also serves as an arbitrator with the California and San Diego County Bar Associations’ Mandatory Fee Arbitration programs. Prior to entering academia, he served as an Assistant Massachusetts Attorney General. i Notices This is the first edition of this Casebook published November 2018. Visit CALI’a eLangdell® website for the latest version and for revision history. This work by Steve Berenson is licensed and published by CALI eLangdell Press under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). CALI and CALI eLangdell Press reserve under copyright all rights not expressly granted by this Creative Commons license. CALI and CALI eLangdell Press do not assert copyright in US Government works or other public domain material included herein. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available through [email protected]. In brief, the terms of that license are that you may copy, distribute, and display this work, or make derivative works, so long as you give CALI eLangdell Press and the author credit; you do not use this work for commercial purposes; and you distribute any works derived from this one under the same licensing terms as this. Suggested attribution format for original work: STEVE BERENSON, JUDICIAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT, Published by CALI eLangdell Press. Available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 License. CALI® and eLangdell® are United States federally registered trademarks owned by The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. For all other uses beyond the scope of this license, please request written permission from CALI. This material does not contain nor is intended to be legal advice. Users seeking legal advice should consult with a licensed attorney in their jurisdiction. The editors have endeavored to provide complete and accurate information in this book. However, CALI does not warrant that the information provided is complete and accurate. CALI disclaims all liability to any person for any loss caused by errors or omissions in this collection of information. ii Permissions The Center for Computer-Assisted Instruction and the author, gratefully acknowledge the permission of the following individuals and organizations for permission to include their material in this casebook. Steven Lubet, Williams Memorial Professor; Director, Bartlit Center for Trial Advocacy, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law: “Stop Calling Him "Judge" Napolitano” The Faculty Lounge Blog and Legal Ethics Forum Blog, March 20, 2017; “Use of Titles by Retired Judges” The Faculty Lounge Blog and Legal Ethics Forum Blog, May 8, 2017. Jerry Kang, Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, UCLA Distinguished Professor of Law, Distinguished Professor of Asian American Studies (by courtesy), Korea Times - Hankook Ilbo Endowed Chair. “Implicit Bias in the Courtroom,” Jerry Kang, Judge Mark Bennett, Devon Carbado, Pam Casey, Nilanjana Dasgupta, David Faigman, Rachel Godsil, Anthony G. Greenwald, Justin Levinson, Jennifer Mnookin, 54 U.C.L.A. L. Rev. 1124 (2012) iii About CALI eLangdell Press The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI®) is: a nonprofit organization with over 200 member US law schools, an innovative force pushing legal education toward change for the better. There are benefits to CALI membership for your school, firm, or organization. ELangdell® is our electronic press with a mission to publish more open books for legal education. How do we define "open?" • Compatibility with devices like smartphones, tablets, and e-readers; as well as print. The right for educators to remix the materials through more lenient copyright policies. • The ability for educators and students to adopt the materials for free. Find available and upcoming eLangdell titles at elangdell.cali.org. Show support for CALI by following us on Facebook and Twitter, and by telling your friends and colleagues where you received your free book. Related CALI Lessons This material also includes links to interactive lessons posted at CALI’s website. Access to the lessons requires membership, either through your law school or an individual membership. Students can confirm that their law school is a member here. Additional information about membership is available. Lesson for Chapter 2 - Judicial Ethics and Conduct - Chapter 2 Review Questions Lesson for Chapter 3 - Judicial Ethics and Conduct - Chapter 3 Review Questions Lesson for Chapter 4 - Judicial Ethics and Conduct - Chapter 4 Review Questions Lesson for Chapter 5 - Judicial Ethics and Conduct - Chapter 5 Review Questions Lesson for Chapter 6 - Judicial Ethics and Conduct - Chapter 6 Review Questions iv Table of Contents About the Author ............................................................................................................................. i Notices ............................................................................................................................................ ii Permissions .................................................................................................................................... iii About CALI eLangdell Press ......................................................................................................... iv Related CALI Lessons ................................................................................................................... iv Chapter 1 - Introduction and Overview .......................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 II. Overview of Judicial Regulation in the United States ......................................................... 2 III. The ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct ..................................................................... 3 A. Preamble ........................................................................................................................... 4 B. Scope ................................................................................................................................ 5 C. Terminology ..................................................................................................................... 5 D. Application ....................................................................................................................... 5 E. Canons .............................................................................................................................. 5 F. Rules ................................................................................................................................. 6 G. Comments......................................................................................................................... 6 IV. Additional Reading .......................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 – Maintaining the Independence and Impartiality of the Judiciary ................................ 8 I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8 II. Compliance with Law .......................................................................................................... 8 In Re Matter of O’Connor................................................................................................... 8 Discussion Question.......................................................................................................... 15 In Re Matter of Hensley .................................................................................................... 15 III. Promoting Public Confidence in the Judiciary ................................................................. 20 A. Demeanor on the Bench ................................................................................................. 21 Inquiry Concerning Judge DeAnn M. Salcido .................................................................. 21 California Commission on Judicial Performance (2010) .................................................. 21 B. Other Conduct Warranting Discipline under Rule 1.2 ................................................... 24 C. The Appearance of Impropriety ..................................................................................... 24 D. Related Rules from Canon 2 .......................................................................................... 25 v In the Matter of Frederick Brown ..................................................................................... 26 IV. Avoiding Abuse of the Prestige of Judicial Office ........................................................... 32 Stop Calling Him "Judge" Napolitano .............................................................................