- A court that has partnered with a local mediation center to create a voluntary, neutral mediation program intended to help manage an anticipated influx of eviction cases may provide information about the program to both landlords and tenants in eviction cases and may display that information in highly visible locations near courtrooms and elsewhere in the courthouse. Nebraska Opinion 2021-2.
- A judge may complete a survey from a social services agency about the number of eviction petitions, proceedings, and warrants filed or pending in the judge’s court to allow the agency to assess the likely impacts of lifting a moratorium on evictions, but such participation is voluntary and in the judge’s discretion. New York Opinion 2021-89.
- A court administrator may accept an unsolicited one-time cash gift from a bar association to fund incentive gifts in problem-solving courts. Florida Opinion 2021-12.
- A judge may provide a sworn statement in response to a written request from the office of inspector general for a law enforcement department investigating the conduct of a police officer during a trial in the judge’s court. Florida Opinion 2021-13.
- A judge may not monitor police communications on police scanners or police scanner apps to learn who has been arrested and will likely come before the judge’s court. New York Opinion 2021-99.
- Unless the judge is currently the presiding judge or assistant presiding judge, a superior court judge’s child may be included on the court’s list of pro tem commissioners and pro tem judges if the judge will not be involved in deciding whether their child will be included on the list or called to serve, will not review their child’s rulings, and will not supervise their child in their role as a pro tem. Washington Opinion 2021-3.
- Remittal of a judge’s disqualification requires on-the-record, individual, and specific consent by all parties that have appeared and not defaulted. New York Opinion 2021-85.
- A judge may contact their legislators to ascertain what steps are necessary to initiate legislation that would create an additional judgeship in their court to handle an increased caseload and may enlist the legislator’s support for such legislation. New York Opinion 2021-91.
- A judge may appear in a video sponsored by a bar foundation that describes the services provided by and through the local legal aid society and another pro bono legal services organization. Florida Opinion 2021-9.
- A judge who is a member of the National Association of Women Judges may express an opinion among the membership about a proposed resolution calling for what appears to be a boycott of states where laws have “voided or repealed protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, or have enacted laws that authorize or mandate [such] discrimination.” A judge’s continued membership in an organization that issues a resolution calling for such a boycott may pose problems under the code of judicial conduct. Florida Opinion 2021-11.
- A judge may sell raffle ticket to members of their family to raise funds for a not-for-profit charitable or civic entity that is renovating a historic building for community use. New York Opinion 2021-88.
- A judge may serve on the board of directors of a local not-for-profit organization that provides educational programs to children and adults with autism if the judge does not have the authority to make referrals to the organization. New York Opinion 2021-109.
- A family division judge may speak on subjects related to family law on a podcast hosted by their spouse, for which the spouse receives compensation from a sponsor, provided the number of appearances by the judge is limited and their comments are purely informational, do not constitute legal advice, and do not include commentary on pending cases or legal controversies. A judge may not post a congratulatory message on LinkedIn when a book written by the judge’s spouse is released. Florida Opinion 2021-14.
- A judge may, as a guest of their spouse, attend a multi-day annual conference for prosecutors, located in a different part of the state from where they preside, and may attend the association’s annual dinner, a social event at which the only business conducted is the installation of new officers. New York Opinion 2021-95.
- A judge who is in a contested election may continue to be a regular guest on a public radio station’s local news talk show to discuss courthouse administration and law-related activities in the community when no questions are taken from the public, the station does not promote the judge’s appearances, and the judge does not give legal advice, discuss pending cases, or receive financial compensation. Florida Opinion 2021-10.
- A judge may be named as a trustee of a friend’s trust if the judge would not be required to serve until the death of both the friend and the friend’s spouse, but the judge should tell the friend that the judge would be ineligible to serve as trustee if they are a member of the judiciary at the time the appointment takes effect. Florida Opinion 2021-8.
- A judge may not prepare an uncontested divorce package for a former client for whom they had prepared a separation agreement while in private practice. New York Opinion 2021-87.
- At the request of a lawyer representing the estate of a former client, a judge may provide a “family tree affidavit” required in a surrogate court from a non-family member possessing personal knowledge of the deceased’s marital status, heirs, and family tree. New York Opinion 2021-96.
- A new judge transitioning from private practice may accept payments from their former firm reflecting a flat fee or the number of hours billed at an agreed-upon hourly rate for legal services performed and may accept contingent fees once the contingency occurs based on quantum meruit for services performed prior to leaving the former law firm. The judge must report on their annual financial disclosure statement any income from a former law firm. A judge must recuse themself from cases in which lawyers from their former law firm appear as long as the judge is receiving or anticipates receiving fees or other payments from the firm. A judge cannot receive in perpetuity from their former firm retirement benefits based on a percentage of fees earned on legal services provided by other lawyers to the judge’s former clients during an agreed-upon time after retirement. A judge may not continue to participate in a law firm’s partnership for purposes of receiving fees or other payments from the firm. Ohio Opinion 2021-6.
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Judicial ethics and discipline 