May judges attend nonprofit lawyers’ association events as guests when the events are not fundraisers?
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This page answers the general question as of 2002. 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 considered whether judges could attend functions of private nonprofit lawyer groups, including trial lawyers’ and women’s bar associations, when the meetings were not for fundraising.
It found that attending such professional community events did not, by itself, convey that attendees held a special position to influence the judge under Canon 2B. The Code’s extrajudicial activity provisions also recognized that judges need not be isolated from their communities.
The Committee treated invitations to these functions as ordinary social hospitality permitted by Canon 4D(5)(c) and concluded the attendance was allowed on the stated nonfundraising facts.
Common questions
Q: May judges attend these association events as guests?
A: Yes. The Committee said the Code did not prohibit attendance at the described nonprofit lawyers’ association functions.
Q: Did the opinion include fundraising events?
A: No. Its question and holding expressly concerned meetings that were not for fundraising.
Q: How did the gift rule apply?
A: The Committee treated the invitations as ordinary social hospitality within Canon 4D(5)(c).
Background and rules framework
The opinion applied Canons 2B and 4D(5) of the then effective New Hampshire Code of Judicial Conduct, and discussed permitted extrajudicial activity under Canon 4C.
Citations and references
New Hampshire Code of Judicial Conduct: Canons 2B, 4D(5), 4D(5)(c), 4C(2), and 4C(3).
See also
Source
- Landing page: New Hampshire Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics opinions
- Original PDF: Opinion 2002-ACJE-04
- Archived official PDF: reviewable capture
Original opinion text
Full opinion text unavailable from the official source; see the linked source above for the complete text.
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