Does a judicial conduct rule govern political signs in a building lobby outside the family court’s leased floors?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2018. 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 family court occupied two floors in a commercial building. An owner running for Congress displayed campaign material elsewhere, including the lobby. A judge asked whether the signs violated the Judicial Conduct Code, citing a state statute about campaigning on courthouse property during early voting.
The Commission found no applicable Judicial Conduct Code rule because the activity occurred outside the court’s floors and beyond the judge’s control. It directed questions about the signs’ appropriateness to the Secretary of State.
In practice
The opinion confines its conclusion to signs outside the family court’s leased floors and outside the judge’s control.
Common questions
Q: Did the Commission find a Judicial Conduct Code violation?
A: No. It found the question did not concern a Code rule on the stated facts.
Q: Where did the Commission refer the campaign-sign question?
A: To the Secretary of State.
Background and rules framework
The Commission reviewed the Code of Judicial Conduct but identified no applicable rule. The request mentioned W. Va. Code § 3-3-2a, but the Commission referred the campaign-sign issue to the Secretary of State.
Citations and references
Statutes mentioned in the request:
- W. Va. Code § 3-3-2a, campaigning on courthouse property or annex facilities during early voting.
See also
Source
- Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
- Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 2018-09, redacted
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.
JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
City Center East - Suite 1200 A
4700 MacCorkle Ave., SE
Charleston, West Virgi nia 25304
(304) 558-01 69 • FAX (304) 558-0831
April 23, 2018
Re: nc Advisory Opinion 2018-09.
Dear
Your recent request for an adviso1y opinion was reviewed by the Judicial Investigation Conunission. The factual scenario giving rise to your request is as follows: Due to space limitations, the County Family Court was recently relocated into a commercial building. nd rd
The Family Court is housed on the 2 and 3 floors of the 5 story building. One of the building's current owners is a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. The owner displays campaign materials in areas of the building not leased to the Family Cou11 including the lobby on st the I floor. You would like to know if the campaign materials are in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct, particularly because West Virginia Code §3-3-2a prohibits campaigning on Courthouse prope1ty or annex facilities during the period of"early voting".
The Commission has reviewed the Code of Judicial Conduct to address the question which you have raised. The Commission is of the opinion that this question does not concern any rule of the Code of Judicial Conduct since the activity is not occurring on your floors and you have no control over activity occurring in other locations. Therefore any question about the appropriateness of campaign signs should be addressed by the Secretary of State.
Thank you for your inquiry. If you have any further questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact the Commission.
/ µ #ti-- Ronald E. Wilson, Chairperson
Judicial Investigation Commission
REW/bjl
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