May Maryland judges accept free Orioles tickets for seats in the Governor’s Box?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2017. 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 Committee said a group of judges may not accept free Baltimore Orioles tickets for the Governor’s Box. The Governor controls use of the suite, and executive agencies and officials regularly appear in Maryland courts.
The concern was the appearance that judges and executive staff were personally close or exchanged favors. The opinion applied the Code’s public-confidence and extrajudicial-activity provisions and cited Maryland’s separation-of-powers principle.
In practice
The opinion bars the specific gift of access to the Governor’s Box. Its reasoning focuses on the apparent relationship between the judiciary and executive officials who may appear in court.
Common questions
Q: May the judges accept the free tickets?
A: No. The Committee concluded the tickets should not be accepted.
Q: Why did the source of the tickets matter?
A: The Governor controlled the box, and the Committee said acceptance could suggest undue closeness or favors between executive staff and judges.
Background and rules framework
At issuance, the Committee applied Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct Rules 18-101.2(a) and 18-103.1(c), alongside Article 8 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights on separation of powers.
Citations and references
Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct:
- Rules 18-101.2(a) and 18-103.1(c).
Constitutional provisions:
- Maryland Declaration of Rights, Article 8.
See also
Source
- Landing page: Maryland Judicial Ethics Committee opinion index
- Original PDF: Opinion 2017-12
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
Maryland Judicial Ethics Committee
Opinion Request Number: 2017-12 1
Date of Issue: July 25, 2017
■ Published Opinion Unpublished Opinion Unpublished Letter of Advice
Judges may not accept tickets to
Baltimore Orioles baseball games to sit in the Governor’s Box Issue: May a group of Maryland judges accept Baltimore Orioles baseball tickets gratis in the Governor’s Box?
Answer: No.
Facts: The Governor’s Box is a suite (also described as a sky box) along the club level at Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles team plays major league baseball. It is equipped with chairs sofas, a wet bar, and rest room. The Governor of the State of Maryland is entitled to the use of the Box at no charge by virtue of a lease between the Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority. The Governor determines who may use the Box. Customarily governors have made the Box available for employees of administrative agencies and for functions of the executive branch of government such as entertaining corporate officials with whom the state is discussing economic development.
Application: Underlying the tenets of the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct is Rule18-101.2(a): “A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.” [emphasis added.] Article 8 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights: “That the Legislative, Executive and Judicial powers of Government ought to be forever separate and distinct from each other….” Rule 18-103.1(c) directs that judges shall not “participate in extrajudicial activities that would appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge’s independence, integrity or impartiality.” Agencies and agents of the executive branch of government appear in court on a regular basis, whether an administrative agency in judicial review of its decision, law enforcement officers in criminal matters, or officials in many other matters involving decisions and actions of the executive branch. While accepting a gift of tickets to attend a baseball game in a relatively luxurious suite might seem innocuous, an observer might conclude that the boundary between the judicial and the executive branches of government is not precise or that members of the Governor’s staff and the guest judges are personally close and trade favors. Litigants must be confident that decisions in their cases are based solely on an independent analysis of the law and the facts of the case, free from any bias toward the state or its agents.
The risk of undermining that confidence by appearing to be too closely associated with members of the executive branch requires that judges not accept free tickets to use the Governor’s Box.
1 Judge Kehoe did not participate in this Opinion.
Maryland Judicial Ethics Committee
Opinion Request Number: 2017-12
Date of Issue: July 25, 2017
■ Published Opinion □ Unpublished Opinion □ Unpublished Letter of Advice Page 2 of 2
Application: The Judicial Ethics Committee cautions that this opinion is applicable only prospectively and only to the conduct of the Requestor described herein, to the extent of the Requestor’s compliance herewith. Omission or misstatement of a material fact in the written request for an opinion negates reliance on this opinion.
Additionally, this opinion should not be considered to be binding indefinitely. The passage of time may result in amendment to the applicable law and/or developments in the area of judicial ethics generally or in changes of facts that could affect the conclusion of the Committee. If the request for advice involves a continuing course of conduct, the Requestor should keep abreast of developments in the area of judicial ethics and, in the event of a change in that area or a change in facts, submit an updated request to the Committee.
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
This opinion is from 2017. Ezel checks the current rules of professional conduct in your state against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace