Could an appellate judge hire the incoming chief justice’s second cousin as a law clerk?
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This page answers the general question as of 1996. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
An incoming Arkansas chief justice asked whether another appellate judge could employ his second cousin as a law clerk. The Committee assumed the hiring judge would decide independently and solely on merit.
Under those assumptions, the Committee found the appointment permissible. The source quotes Canon 3 C(4) on appointments but calls it Canon 3 B(4) in its final sentence; this page retains both references as printed.
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 family connection alone bar the clerkship?
A: No. The Committee allowed it under its stated merit and independent-hiring assumptions.
Q: Would a collective hiring decision meet the opinion’s condition?
A: The Committee expressly assumed hiring was wholly independent, so it did not decide a collective process.
Background and rules framework
The opinion quoted then-current Canon 3 C(4) on merit and nepotism and used a Canon 3 B(4) reference in its conclusion.
Citations and references
- Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct Canons 3 C(4) and 3 B(4), as printed in the opinion.
See also
No sibling opinions yet indexed.
Source
- Landing page: https://jddc.arkansas.gov/opinions/opinion-no-96-08/
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
December 3, 1996
W. H. "Dub" Arnold
Circuit/Chancery Judge-9E
Clark County Courthouse
P.O. Box 966
Arkadelphia Arkansas 71923
RE: Advisory Opinion # 96-08
Dear Judge Arnold:
In your letter of November 27, 1996, you ask whether a relative of yours (second cousin) who will be graduating from the University of Arkansas School of Law may be employed as a law clerk by one of the associate justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court or one of the judges of the Court of Appeals, notwithstanding your status, effective January 1, 1997, as Chief Justice of the former body.
Canon 3 C (4) provides:
A judge should not make unnecessary appointments. A judge should exercise his power of appointment only on the basis of merit, avoiding nepotism and favoritism. No judge shall employ a spouse or other relative unless it has been affirmatively demonstrated to the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission that it is impossible for the judge to hire any other qualified person to fill the position. A judge should not approve compensation of appointees beyond the fair value of services rendered.
Assuming that any hiring in this instance is solely on the basis of merit, and presupposing that the hiring of staff by the individual judges is done wholly independently and is in no sense a collective procedure, we are of the opinion that Canon 3 B (4) would not be broached by the employment by one judge of a second cousin of another.
Sincerely,
Steele Hays
For the Committee
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