Could a Maine active-retired Superior Court justice mediate private cases while unassigned?

Plain-English summary

An active-retired Superior Court justice was invited by a private dispute resolution company to hear or mediate cases outside regular court proceedings during an unassigned period. Source: Opinion 94-1.

The committee said the Maine Code of Judicial Conduct applied to active-retired justices. It concluded that Canon 4(F) barred a judge from acting as an arbitrator or mediator or otherwise performing judicial functions privately, even without using court resources. Source: Opinion 94-1.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994 under Maine’s former Code of Judicial Conduct. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court replaced that Code effective September 1, 2015. Its analysis is historical; check the current Code before relying on the former canon numbers. Source: Maine Committee on Judicial Conduct 2022 Annual Report.

Common questions

Q: Could the justice mediate private cases while unassigned?

A: No. The committee applied Canon 4(F)’s express prohibition. Source: Opinion 94-1.

Q: Did active-retired status remove the justice from the Code?

A: No. The committee said the Code applied to active-retired justices. Source: Opinion 94-1.

Q: Did avoiding court facilities make the mediation permissible?

A: No. The committee said private mediation remained barred even without using court facilities or resources. Source: Opinion 94-1.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied former Maine Code of Judicial Conduct Canon 4(F) and the Code’s Part II applicability provision for active-retired justices. Source: Opinion 94-1.

Citations and references

Maine Code of Judicial Conduct:

• Former Canon 4(F); Part II, Section 1(A).

See also

• ME Judicial Ethics Op. 03-1: Subpoenaed Judicial Testimony
• ME Judicial Ethics Op. 96-1: Private Board Service

Source

• Landing page: Maine advisory-opinion index
• Original PDF: Opinion 94-1

Original opinion text

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

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

Opinion No. 94-1
Issued: June 27, 1994

JUDICIAL ETHICS COMMITTEE UL.
OF THE

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT Question: An out-of-state private company, Resolute Systems, Inc., engaged in the business of mediation and alternative dispute resolution, has contacted an “active-retired” justice of the Superior Court to determine his interest in hearing cases and assisting in the mediation and resolution of cases outside of regular court proceedings. The justice asks:

“Is there anything improper or unethical for an active-retired

judge to engage in such mediation during a period when he is

otherwise unassigned?”
Answer: The Maine Code of Judicial Conduct is applicable to active-retired justices. Part II, § 1A).

Even though a judge would not utilize court facilities or resources, but as a retired judge acts for the Judicial Branch on a part-time basis, employment to hear and resolve cases in a private capacity is not permitted under Canon 4(F) of the Code as it currently exists:

“Service _as Arbitrator or Mediator: A judge shall not act as an

arbitrator or mediator or otherwise perform judicial functions in a private capacity.”