Could a magistrate serve on a board recruiting health care professionals to a rural community?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2003. 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 magistrate was invited to a community board working with a West Virginia University rural health project to recruit health care professionals. The Commission applied former Canon 4, including its limits on activities that cast doubt on impartiality, demean judicial office, or interfere with judicial duties. It concluded that the magistrate could serve on the board as described, with service remaining within Canon 4's guidelines.
In practice
The opinion's permission concerned the recruitment board described in the magistrate's correspondence and was expressly conditioned on Canon 4.
Common questions
Q: Did the Commission permit membership on this recruitment board?
A: Yes. It said the magistrate could serve on the board as described, subject to Canon 4.
Q: What limits did the opinion identify?
A: The quoted former Canon 4A barred outside activities that cast reasonable doubt on impartiality, demean the judicial office, or interfere with judicial duties.
Background and rules framework
The letter quoted former Canon 4 and Canon 4A of the West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct. It also quoted the Canon 4 commentary that a judge should not be isolated from the community.
Citations and references
West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct (former): Canon 4; Canon 4A and commentary.
See also
Source
- Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
- Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 2003-01, redacted
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.
JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
Post Office Box 1629
Charleston, West Virginia 25326-1629
(304) 558-0169 • FAX (304) 558-0831
February 14, 2003
Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 2003-01
Dear
Your recent request for an advisory opinion has been reviewed by the Judicial Investigation Commission. In that request you stated that you have been asked to serve on a recruitment board. The recruitment board is part of the recruitable community project which is a cooperative effort of the Department of Family Medicine and the Extension Service of West Virginia University and of various rural health agencies in West Virginia. The main objective of the project is to aid rural West Virginia communities in the recruitment of health care professionals. The interest of the project is on the enhancement of the community role in recruitment. Participating communities are required to establish a recruitment board of interested members who will work constructively with project personnel in order to gather information and effect changes necessary to enhance recruitment possibilities.
The Commission has reviewed Canon 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct to address the question which you have raised. Canon 4 states in relevant part:
Canon 4. A judge shall so conduct the judge's extra-judicial activities as to minimize the risk of conflict with judicial obligations.
A. Extra-judicial activities in general. - A judge shall conduct all of the judge's extra-judicial activities so that they do not:
(1) cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially as a judge; (2) demean the judicial office; or (3) interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties.
February 14, 2003
Page Two
The commentary to this section of Canon 4 states that “complete separation of a judge from extra-judicial activities is neither possible nor wise; a judge should not be isolated from the community in which the judge lives.”
Based upon the relevant language contained in this section of Canon 4 and the recruitment board as it is defined in the correspondence which you have sent to the Commission, it is the opinion of the Commission that you may serve on the recruitment board. Any such service must fall within the guidelines set forth in Canon 4.
If there is any further question regarding this matter do not hesitate the Commission.
Very truly yours,
Donald H. Cookman, Chairperson
Judicial Investigation Commission
DHC:nb
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