May a judicial council host legislators for dinner to discuss legislative issues concerning the courts?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2003. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The chair of a Judicial Council legislative committee asked whether the council could host House and Senate Judiciary Committee members for dinner. The stated aims were to introduce the council’s incoming president and discuss legislative issues of interest to the judiciary.
The Committee concluded that this dinner did not violate Canon 4. It treated discussion of judicial-system matters with legislators as related to the law and administration of justice, which the then-current Code allowed judges to address.
Common questions
Q: Did Canon 4 bar the described dinner with legislators?
A: No. The Committee said the dinner for the stated purposes was permissible.
Q: What subject matter supported that conclusion?
A: The opinion tied the discussion to legislative issues about the judiciary and improvement of the legal system.
Background and rules framework
The Committee applied then-current Canons 4B and 4C(1), which addressed judges’ participation in legal-system activities and appearances before legislative officials on law and justice-system matters.
Citations and references
- Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct Canons 4B and 4C(1).
See also
No sibling opinions yet indexed.
Source
- Landing page: https://jddc.arkansas.gov/opinions/opinion-no-03-04/
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
December 16, 2003
Honorable Bynum Gibson, Jr.
Circuit Court Judge
Drew County Courthouse
210 S. Main Street
Monticello, Arkansas 71655
RE: Advisory Opinion 2003-04
Dear Judge Gibson:
In your capacity as chairman of the Judicial Council legislative committee, you have asked whether hosting a dinner for members of the Arkansas House and Senate Judiciary Committee would violate the Code of Judicial Conduct. It is our understanding that the stated purpose of the dinner is to introduce to the Legislators the Judicial CouncilÕs president elect as well as to discuss legislative issues of interest to the Judiciary at large.
Canon 4B provides that a judge may participate in extra-judicial activities concerning the legal system and the administration of justice, subject to the requirements of the Code.
Canon 4C(1) further provides that a judge shall not appear before a legislative body or official except on matters concerning the law, the legal system or the administration of justice.
It is the opinion of the Committee that the hosting of a dinner for the House and Senate members for the purposes stated does not violate Canon 4. Under the Commentary to Canon 4B it is pointed out that a judge is in a unique position to contribute to the improvement of the legal system and is encouraged to do so, either independently or through an organization such as the Judicial Council. The hosting of a dinner with the legislators whereby matters pertaining to the judicial system may be informally discussed is in the interest of the administration of justice and is permissible under the Code of Judicial Conduct.
For the Committee,
David B. Bogard
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