A sampling of recent judicial ethics advisory opinions

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  • A judicial officer may not order a lawyer who fails to timely prepare an order to make a charitable donation as a penalty.  West Virginia Advisory Opinion 2024-13.
  • To make criminal decisions more available to the public, a judge may, subject to administrative approval, provide that copies of the court’s non-sealed written criminal decisions be placed in chronological order in a publicly available folder in the court clerk’s office.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-210.
  • A judge who determines there is a substantial likelihood that an attorney failed to maintain client funds in an escrow account must report the attorney to the disciplinary authorities.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-35.
  • A town judge must object in writing when a town installs video security cameras in the courtroom and audio and video cameras in the court clerks’ office and must notify an administrative or supervising judge.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-67.
  • A judge may not record a public service announcement about a plea-by-mail program for parking tickets in the judge’s court.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-46.
  • A judge may wear an American flag pin on their robe.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-225.
  • A supervising judge may distribute a scholarly outline about counsel fees in a specialized civil practice area to the jurists under their supervision and host a “lunch and learn” program for judges and court personnel with outside speakers, provided the program is balanced and impartial.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-34.
  • Even if there is no fundraising and participation will be voluntary and outside of regular court hours, an administrative judge may not organize community volunteer opportunities for the judiciary and non-judicial staff, for example, serving or packing food for the hungry at a not-for-profit entity, volunteering at the Special Olympics, or participating in a Habitat for Humanity build.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-216.
  • To advocate for clarification of state law on when and how a convicted felon’s right to vote is restored, a judge may ask their local legislator to initiate changes and suggest possible solutions, may encourage probation officers to educate their clients, may inform a convicted person in court about their rights and how to regain the right to vote, and may talk to civic clubs on the issue as an educator, not an advocate recommending specific fixes or changes to existing law.  Kansas Advisory Opinion JE-189 (2024).
  • A judge may not participate as a panelist in a bar association’s continuing legal education program about a recently settled civil action in which the judge presided with attorneys who appeared in the case, unless the time for appeals has expired, no collateral proceedings are reasonably foreseeable, and the panel includes attorneys from both the plaintiff’s side and the defense side.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-205.
  • A judge-elect may not make a presentation about a civil trial in federal court they recently won for their client at a meeting of the West Virginia Association of Justice.  West Virginia Advisory Opinion 2024-9.
  • Subject to generally applicable limitations, a judge may attend meetings of not-for-profit civic or charitable organizations to discuss the judge’s experience on the bench and may invite attendees to observe the court in session.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-46.
  • A judge may not speak about the judge’s “philosophy” on pistol permits to gun advocacy groups or sportsmen/sportswomen.  A judge may make non-political charitable contributions and/or be a regular member of the ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Sierra Club, and Planned Parenthood, but may not donate to the political arms of those organizations or assume any leadership position within them.  A judge may serve on a library board organized as a not-for-profit charitable, educational, or civic entity, but may not be involved in lobbying efforts or in seeking to influence legislation affecting the library.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-217.
  • A judge may continue to serve as a volunteer host for a community affairs program on the state library network that does not promote any commercial enterprise or any political ideology or candidate if the judge is neutral and detached in their presentations and discusses only topics that are not controversial, political, or related to any pending or impending matters in any court and if the program is recorded on the judge’s own time, their participation does not interfere with their judicial duties, and the judge does not use court resources in the production of the show.  West Virginia Advisory Opinion 2024-10.
  • A judge may serve on a department of criminal justice services advisory board that will make recommendations about distributing federal funds, provided the board’s membership is balanced and the judge’s involvement is limited to reviewing and making recommendations on distributing funds to the courts, and not to law enforcement organizations.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-237.
  • A judge may not write letters to be used in a submission for funding by Kansas Legal Services even if the letters would primarily provide information about the legal services crisis and what judges see in their courtrooms and may not appear before a foundation to answer questions.  Kansas Advisory Opinion JE-191 (2024).
  • A judge may be honored as “Woman of the Year” at a not-for-profit cultural organization’s International Women’s Day event, provided the event is not a fundraiser.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-222.
  • A judge should not act as an auctioneer at charity auctions on behalf of entities such as United Way, Relay for Life, 4-H, or FFA.  West Virginia Advisory Opinion 2024-8.
  • A judge who paints as a hobby may, subject to conditions, occasionally sell paintings to friends, family, and the general public.  Connecticut Informal Opinion 2024-1.
  • A judge may serve as a part-time head coach or assistant coach of a high school softball team and receive modest compensation, if non-game team activities will take place outside normal judicial work hours and any absence to attend games will not interfere with their judicial responsibilities.  Kansas Advisory Opinion JE-190 (2024).
  • A judge may sign a family tree affidavit for the estate of their long-time close friend, based on facts within their personal knowledge.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-209.
  • A judge may invite attorneys to their wedding, provided the attorneys are not on trial before the judge at the time of the event.  For 2 years after the wedding, the judge must disclose when a wedding guest appears in the judge’s court.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-57.
  • A judge may accept an unsolicited offer from family members and close personal friends to pay for the judge’s induction ceremony when these donors are individuals who are unlikely to come before the judge and their appearance or interest in a case would require the judge’s disqualification.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-238.
  • A judge may not participate in efforts to honor a trailblazing physician with a postage stamp, when such efforts include petitioning the U.S. Postal Service and/or elected officials, and have no connection to the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice.  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-63.
  • A judge may attend a victory party celebrating the election of their court attorney to judicial office when the party will be paid for solely with the court attorney’s personal funds and will not be sponsored by any political organization.  New York Advisory Opinion 2023-229.
  • A judge may not attend an event for “Voters of Tomorrow,” a 501(c)(4) organization that seeks to “harness the political power of Gen Z, deciding elections and legislation through 2024 and beyond,” with the goal of making Gen Z “an unstoppable force in American politics and government.”  New York Advisory Opinion 2024-64.
  • A sitting judge/candidate for election may respond to a questionnaire from the League of Women Voters that it publishes to provide information to voters regarding candidates.  Maryland Advisory Opinion Request 2024-6.

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