Could an Illinois judge serve on a nonprofit board that trains court-appointed guardians ad litem?

Plain-English summary

A judge helped form a tax-exempt nonprofit to train volunteers for possible guardian ad litem appointments by the court and served on its board.

The Committee allowed the board role under former Rule 64C because training guardians ad litem improved administration of justice.

Former Rule 65B(1)’s litigation restriction did not prevent service: the organization trained people who might later be appointed, but the organization itself did not appear as a litigant.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997 under the 1993 Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct. The Committee’s page says that Code was superseded on January 1, 2023, and does not assess the effect of the 2023 Code. Treat this page as historical context and verify the current Code before relying on its analysis.

Common questions

Q: Could the judge serve on the training nonprofit’s board?

A: Yes. The Committee treated its training mission as improvement of justice administration.

Q: Did the organization litigate in court?

A: No. The Committee distinguished its training work from adversary proceedings.

Q: Did future GAL appointments change the result?

A: No. Those possible appointments did not make the training organization itself a litigant.

Background and rules framework

The Committee applied former Illinois Supreme Court Rule 64C to an organization devoted to justice administration and Rule 65B(1) to possible litigation exposure.

Citations and references

• Illinois Supreme Court Rules 64C and 65B(1).
• IJEC Opinions 93-3, 93-4, 93-5, and 93-7.

See also

• IL Judicial Ethics Op. 1997-06: School nonprofit service

Source

• Landing page: Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion 1995-11