May a judge serve on a County Extension Service Committee?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2005. 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 judge asked whether they could serve on a County Extension Service Committee and said they had not had a case relating to WVU County Extension and did not expect one. After reviewing the supplied committee description and former Canon 4C(3), the Commission concluded that the judge could serve as a committee member.
In practice
The permission applies to the committee as described to the Commission and the judge’s stated absence of related cases.
Common questions
Q: Could the judge serve on the committee?
A: Yes. The Commission expressly permitted service on the described County Extension Service Committee.
Q: What litigation history did the judge report?
A: The judge said they had never had a case relating to WVU County Extension and did not expect a case relating to WVU.
Background and rules framework
The letter quoted former Canon 4C(3)(a)-(c), covering likely proceedings involving the organization, fundraising, and investment advice.
Citations and references
West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct (former): Canon 4; Canon 4C(3)(a)-(c).
See also
Source
- Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
- Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 2005-06, 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
April 15, 2005
Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 2005-06
Dear
In correspondence with the Commission you asked if you could serve as a member of the County Extension Service Committee. You stated that you never had a case pending before you related to the WVU County Extension and you did not believe you would have a case relating to
WVU. To your correspondence you attached a description of the County Extension Service Committee.
The Commission reviewed your correspondence and the description of the County Extension Service Committee which you provided at its recent meeting. To address your inquiry the Commission reviewed relevant sections of Canon 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. 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.
C. Governmental, civic, or charitable activities.
(3) Civic and charitable activities. A judge may participate in civic and charitable activities that do not reflect adversely upon the judge’s impartiality or interfere with the performance of the judge’s judicial duties. A judge may serve as an officer, director, trustee, or other non-legal adviser of an educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization not conducted for the economic or political advantage of its members subject to the following limitations:
April 15, 2005
Page Two
(a) A judge should not serve if it is likely that the organization will be engaged in proceedings that would ordinarily come before the judge or will be regularly engaged in adversary proceedings in any court.
(b) A judge should not solicit funds for any educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization, or use or permit the use of the prestige of office for that purpose; but a judge may be listed as an officer, director, or trustee of such an organization, so long as the listing is not used for fund-raising purposes. A judge should not be a speaker or the guest of honor at any organization’s funding-raising events, but may attend such events.
(c) A judge should not give investment advice to such an organization, but a judge may serve on its board of directors or trustees even though it has the responsibility for approving investment decisions.
Based upon the description which you have provided to the Commission and the language contained in the relevant sections of Canon 4, it is the opinion of the Commission that
you may serve as a member of the County Extension Service Committee.
If you have any further questions regarding this matter do not hesitate to contact the Commission.
Very truly yours,
Fred L. Fox, II, Chairperson
Judicial Investigation Commission
FLF,II:nb
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