May a Maryland judge teach law for pay at a proprietary school that trains security personnel?

Plain-English summary

A corporation training security personnel offered a judge paid work teaching constitutional and criminal law and supervising some other law courses for four hours a week.

The Committee read Canon XXX as generally allowing compensated law teaching if judicial duties were not hindered and no positive law forbade it. It found no requirement that the instruction occur at a college or law school, and approved the described work on that assumption.

Currency note

This opinion discusses the Maryland judicial ethics provisions in force at the time it was written. Its analysis is historical; verify the current Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct and the linked opinion before relying on a cited provision.

Common questions

Q: Did the school have to be a law school?

A: No. The Committee found no such limitation in Canon XXX.

Q: What condition did the Committee attach?

A: The law teaching could not interfere with the judge’s official duties or be forbidden by positive law.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applies Maryland’s then-cited Canon XXX to compensated law teaching and supervision at a proprietary school.

Citations and references

• Maryland Canons of Judicial Ethics, Canon XXX.
• Maryland JEC Opinion Request 1976-08.

See also

• MD Judicial Ethics Op. 1983-03
• MD Judicial Ethics Op. 2010-01

Source

• Landing page: Maryland Judicial Ethics Committee opinion index
• Original PDF: Opinion 1977-02

Original opinion text

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

Maryland Judicial Ethics Committee

Opinion Request Number: 1977-02

Date of Issue: March 7, 1977

O Published Opinion G Unpublished Opinion G Unpublished Letter of Advice

Judge May Teach Law and Supervise Other Teachers in Proprietary School

In your letter of February 22, 1977, to the Judicial Ethics Committee, you advised the Committee that a corporation “designed to train security personnel” had offered you a position as a law teacher. You went on to state that, under the terms of the offer, you would teach two courses, Constitutional Law and Criminal Law, would exercise some supervision over the teaching of other law courses, and would be paid $25.00 an hour for four hours’ work per week. You inquired “as to the ethics of the situation since this is neither a law school nor a college.” The provision of the Canons and Rules of Judicial Ethics which governs this matter is the third paragraph of Canon XXX:
“A judge may lecture upon or instruct in law, or write upon the subject, and accept compensation therefor, if such course does not interfere with the due performance of his judicial duties and is not forbidden by some positive provision of law.”
Nothing in the Canon suggests that the activities mentioned are permissible only in a “law school” or “college.” Instead, the Canon generally permits a judge to lecture upon, instruct in, or write upon law for compensation, with the only expressed limitations being that the activities do not interfere with the performance of his judicial duties and are not forbidden by a positive provision of law. We have previously ruled that a judge may engage in one of these activities under circumstances where no “law school” or “college” was involved, [Opinion Request No. 1976-08], issued on July 8, 1976.
Assuming that there will be no interference with the performance of your judicial duties, the activities which you contemplate are authorized by Canon XXX.