Could a new magistrate renew a private investigator firm license and keep it after taking office?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 1996. 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 newly elected magistrate owned a private investigator firm. Its license would expire before the magistrate took office, and a son working in the firm was waiting for a separate license. The requester proposed renewing the firm license but doing no investigations after taking office.
Applying former Canons 2A and 4D(1), the Commission allowed pre-office renewal to avoid disrupting the other investigators. Once the requester became magistrate, the Commission said investigative work had to stop and the firm license should be turned in. It cited an October 23, 1996 JIC opinion about off-duty investigative work.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1996, 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: Could the requester renew before taking office?
A: Yes, to prevent the expiring license from affecting other investigators.
Q: Could the magistrate keep the firm license after taking office?
A: No. The Commission said it should be surrendered then, and investigative work should stop.
Background and rules framework
Former Canon 2A addressed appearance of impropriety; Canon 4D(1)(a)-(b) restricted financial dealings that appeared to exploit office or created continuing business relationships with likely court participants.
Citations and references
West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct (former):
- Canon 2A and 4D(1)(a)-(b).
Other opinion cited:
- JIC Advisory Opinion dated October 23, 1996, off-duty investigator work.
See also
Source
- Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
- Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 1996-27, 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
212 Dickinson Street
Post Office Box 1629
Charleston, West Virginia 25326-1629
(304) 558-0169 FAX (304) 558-0831
November 25, 1996
Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 1996-27
Dear
The reques t for an adviso ry opinion which you sent to Counse l for the Judici al Invest igation Commis sion was review ed at the Commi ssionrs recent meetin g. In that letter you stated that you have been license d as a private invest igator for severa l years and that you were recent ly elected as one of the county 's magist rates. You indicat ed that you have a firm private invest igators license which means that you can hire invest igators to work for you and one of your invest igators is your son. Your presen t license expire s on Novemb er 30, 1996, and your son has applied for his own private invest igators license which will take about six weeks to get approv ed. You stated that if you don't file for a new license before your curren t license expire s your son could not operate as a private invest igator until he receive d his own license .
You stated that you intend to go ahead and renew your firm license and then upon taking office as a magist rate in Januar y ·cease to do any type of invest igation s and let your son take over your busine ss. You would like to keep your licens e, but not do any invest igative work while you serve as magist rate. You asked for an adviso ry opinion regard ing this course of action .
The situati on which you have set forth in your reques t can best be addres sed by Canon 2 and Canon 4 which state in releva nt part: canon 2. A judge shall avoid improp riety and the appear ance of improp riety in all of the judge' s activi ties.
- 2 - November 255, 1996
A. A judge shall respect and comply with the law< shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impro~riety in all the judges activities, and shall act at all times in the manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. canon 4. A judge shall so conduct the judge's extra- ⇒ udicialactivities as to minimize the risk of conflict with Judicial obligations.
D. Financial Activities. - (1) A judge shall not engage in financial and business dealings that:
(a) may reasonably be perceived to exploit the judge's judicial position or
(b) involve the judge in frequent transactions or continuing business relationships with those lawyers or other persons likely to come before the court on which the judge serves. Based upon the language contained in these canons you are correct in your decision not to engage in any private investigation work after you become a magistrate. (See JIC Advisory Opinion October 23< 1996, stating it is improper for a magistrate to act as a private investigator during off-duty hours) The Commission feels that you could app1¥ for your firm license so that the expiration in November will not adversely affect your other investigators including your son. However, after you become a ma~istrate the license should be turned in because of the prohibition set forth in the canons.
If there is any further question regarding this matter, do not hesitate to contactlthe co ission.
V y trul
F~f I, Chairman
FLF,II/bl
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
This opinion is from 1996. 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