Could a newly elected magistrate keep working as a real estate agent for someone else’s agency?

Plain-English summary

A newly elected magistrate wanted to keep a real estate license active and list and sell property in spare time through an agency owned by someone else.

The Commission applied former Canon 4D(3), which barred judges from serving as employees of business entities except for specified family-owned or family-investment businesses. It treated the proposed work as employment by the agency and found neither exception applicable, so the magistrate could not continue as an agent.

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 magistrate keep selling for the agency?

A: No. The Commission treated that role as prohibited employment by another person’s business.

Q: Did a family-business exception apply?

A: No. The agency was owned by someone else and did not fit the quoted exceptions.

Background and rules framework

Former Canon 4D(3) restricted business employment by judges and allowed limited participation in family-held or family-investment businesses.

Citations and references

West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct (former):

• Canon 4D(3)(a)-(b), financial activities and business employment.

See also

• WV JIC Advisory Opinion 1998-14: Former practice fee

Source

• Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
• Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 1996-32, 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 ,

Decembe r 13, 1996

Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 1996-32

Dear
Your letter to _ in which you asked for an advisory opinion was forwarde d to the Judicia l Investig ation commiss ion for review. In that letter you state that you are a newly elected magistr ate for county and would like an opinion regardin g the possibi lity of keeping your current real estate license active with a local real estate agency. You indicate d that the agency was owned and operated by another individu al. You stated that you have been selling real estate in West Virginia for the past five years and would like to keep your license active so that you could list and sell real property on your own time.
Your inquiry is addresse d by Canon 40(3) of the Code of Judicia l Conduct which states: canon 4. A judge shall so conduct the judge's extra- judicia l activiti es as to minimiz e the risk of conflic t with judicia l obligati ons.
D. Financi al activiti es.
(3) A judge shall not serve as an officer, directo r, manager , general partner , advisor, or employe e of any busines s entity except that a judge may, subject to the requirem ents of this Code, manage and particip ate in:

• 2 - December 13, 1996
  a. a business closely held by the judge or members of the judge's family, or b. a business entity primarily engaged in investment of the financial resources of the judge or members of the judge's family.
  Based on the information which you have given to the Commission, it would appear that you would be an employee for the real estate agency. Furthermore, the exceptions to the prohibition of a judge serving as an employee as set forth in canon 40(3) (a) and (b) are not present in your situation. You would, therefore, be precluded from continuing to serve as a real estate agent while you serve as a judicial officer.
  If you have
  questions regarding this matter,
  do not hesitate
  the Co ission.
  trul

~
II, Chairman
FLF,II/bl