May a judge teach evening university courses and be paid as an adjunct professor?

Plain-English summary

A circuit judge asked whether he could teach evening courses at Arkansas State University at Beebe and receive adjunct-professor pay. The Committee said the then-current Code permitted university teaching within its limits on outside activity and allowed compensation on the same basis as a nonjudge.

The Committee distinguished that Code question from whether state constitutional or statutory provisions permitted compensation from a state university. It declined to interpret those provisions, saying they belonged to the courts or Attorney General.

Currency note

This opinion predates the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct that took effect July 1, 2009, as stated in JEAC Opinion 2009-04. Later rules and opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify the current Code before relying on a specific rule.

Common questions

Q: Did the Committee treat teaching at a public university differently from teaching at a private college?

A: No. It referred to its prior approval of private-college teaching in Opinion 95-05 and said the Code did not require different treatment for state universities.

Q: Did the opinion decide whether state law allowed pay from the university?

A: No. The Committee said its authority was limited to interpreting the Judicial Code and left the cited constitutional and statutory questions to the courts or Attorney General.

Background and rules framework

The Committee relied on Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct Canons 4(A), 4(B), and 4(H), as they stood in 2000. Those provisions addressed limits on outside activity, teaching on legal and nonlegal subjects, and compensation for that work. The opinion also noted the judge's references to Arkansas Constitution Article 7, Section 18 and state statutes, without interpreting them.

Citations and references

• Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct Canons 4(A), 4(B), and 4(H).
• Arkansas Constitution Article 7, Section 18.
• Ark. Code Ann. ¤ 19-4-1604 and ¤ 21-1-401.
• Arkansas Attorney General Opinion 92-050.
• Arkansas JEAC Opinion 95-05.

See also

No sibling opinions yet indexed.

Source

• Landing page: https://jddc.arkansas.gov/opinions/opinion-no-00-06/
• Identical official copy: https://jddc.arkansas.gov/opinions/opinion-no-00-06-2/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

"June 29, 2000

Honorable Bill Mills

Circuit Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit

Wilbur D. Mills Court Building

301 West Arch

Searcy, Arkansas 72143

RE: Advisory Opinion 2000-06

Dear Judge Mills:

You have requested an advisory opinion as to whether you may teach evening courses at Arkansas State University at Beebe, and whether you may be compensated for teaching as an adjunct professor.

Canon 4(A) of the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct permits a judge to engage in extra-judicial activities so long as they do not cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially, demean the judicial office, or interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties. Even more specifically, Canon 4(B) permits a judge to teach, speak or write on both legal and non-legal subjects. Further, Canon 4(H) permits a judge to be compensated for such work on the same basis as a non-judge. Within those guidelines, the Code of Judicial Conduct permits you to teach at the University level.

We have previously, in our opinion 95-05, approved such teaching at a private institution of higher education. The Code does not require that teaching at state universities be treated differently.

In regard to whether a judge may be compensated by a state university, your letter also refers to Article 7, Section 18 of the Arkansas Constitution; Ark. Code Ann. ¤ 19-4-1604 and

¤ 21-1-401; and Arkansas Attorney General Opinion 92-050. However, our authority is limited to providing interpretations of the Code of Judicial Conduct. We cannot interpret legislation, particularly 1999 Acts that may regulate employment by state agencies. Those interpretive matters belong to the courts or to the Attorney General.

Sincerely,

Howard W. Brill

For the Committee"