Could a bar association collect law-firm contributions to buy office equipment for a circuit court?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1994. Ask about yours and see what the current rules of professional conduct in your state say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
A local bar association had raised voluntary law-firm contributions for court televisions and a VCR. At circuit judges’ request, it considered buying facsimile machines for the court and asked whether the Code allowed that contribution.
The Commission found no Code violation on the facts supplied. It suggested that contributor names not be published or made available to the circuit judges.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1994, before West Virginia adopted its 2015 Code of Judicial Conduct, effective December 1, 2015. Subsequent rule changes or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify the current Code before relying on the letter's conclusion.
Common questions
Q: Did the Commission find a violation from the proposed equipment gift?
A: No, on the facts described.
Q: What did it say about donor identities?
A: It suggested that contributor names not be published or given to the circuit judges.
Background and rules framework
The letter considered the equipment contribution under the Code of Judicial Conduct generally and cited no numbered Canon.
Citations and references
The opinion cites the West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct generally, without a numbered Canon.
See also
Source
- Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
- Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 1994-01, redacted
- Code adoption date: West Virginia JIC 2015 Annual Report
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.
JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
Building 1, Room E400
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25305-0834
February 25, 1994
Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 1994-01
Dear
Your recent letter to
r Counsel to the
Judicial Investigation Commission, was referred to the Commission for review at its recent meeting. In that correspondence you state that the Bar Association asked for voluntary contributions from local law firms and obtained the funds necessary to purchase two television sets - one for the County circuit Court and one for the
County circuit Court. These televisions were purchased and given to the circuit courts in 1992. You indicated that the Bar Association also utilized funds to purchase an additional VCR for the new judge in the Judicial Circuit.
You stated in your correspondence that at the request of the circuit judges, the Bar Association has been considering the purchase of plain paper facsimile machines for the Court. You asked whether any violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct would occur if the Bar Association contributed funds to purchase office equipment for the Court.
Based upon the information which you have provided in your correspondence, the Commission can find no violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. It is suggested, however, that the names of contributors to the fundraising efforts not be published or made available to any of the circuit judges. yours,
Chairman
FLF,II/bl
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