May a former police officer serving as magistrate remain in law enforcement associations?

Plain-English summary

A newly elected magistrate and former law enforcement officer asked whether membership in three police associations could continue while serving on the bench.

The Commission applied Rule 3.1(B), (C) and rejected continued membership. The organizations were closely aligned with officers regularly appearing in the magistrate’s courtroom, and membership could appear to favor law enforcement and prosecution.

In practice

The opinion bars the described association memberships for this magistrate during judicial service.

Common questions

Q: May the magistrate stay in the associations?

A: No. The Commission said membership could not continue.

Q: Why did courtroom appearances matter?

A: Officers aligned with the associations regularly appeared before the magistrate, creating an appearance of favoritism.

Background and rules framework

Rule 3.1(B), (C) bars outside activities that cause frequent disqualification or appear to undermine judicial impartiality. The Commission applied it to associations closely tied to regular court participants.

Citations and references

West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct:

• Rule 3.1(B), (C), outside activities and apparent impartiality.

See also

• WV JIC Advisory Opinion 2020-04
• WV JIC Advisory Opinion 2020-28

Source

• Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
• Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 2018-14, 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 Virginia 25304
(304) 558-0169 • FAX (304) 558-0831

July 10, 2018

Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 2018-14.

Dear

Your recent request for an advisory opm10n was reviewed by the Judicial Investigation Commission. The facts giving rise to your request are as follows:

You ran for the unexpired term of Magistrate in your jurisdiction. You were elected to the position on May 8, 2018, and pursuant to State law you filled the unexpired term immediately upon certification of the election results. Prior to being elected Magistrate, you were a longtime law enforcement officer having previously worked as a deputy sheriff in your county and as a local police chief. As such, you have long been a member of the Fraternal Order of Police, the Deputy Sheriffs Association and the West Virginia Chiefs of Police. You want to know if you can remain in these organizations while serving as a Magistrate.

To address the questions, the Commission has reviewed Rules 3 .1 (B), and (C) of the Code of Judicial Conduct which provide:

A judge may engage in extrajudicial activities, except as prohibited by law or this Code. However, when engaging in extrajudicial activities, a judge shall not:

(B) part1c1pate in activities that will lead to frequent disqualification of the judge;

JIC Advisory Opinion 2018-14
July 10, 2018
Page 2 of2

(C) pmticipate in activities that would appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge's independence, integrity, or impmtiality; . . ..

Based upon the foregoing, the Commission is of the opinion that you cannot belong to these organizations while you are a magistrate. Although the organizations you belong too may well be fraternal, they are also clearly aligned with law enforcement officers who regularly appear in your comtroom. Membership in these organizations may also create a public perception that you are pro-law enforcement and therefore, pro- prosecution.

Thank you for your inquiry. If there is any further question regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact the Commission.

Sincerely,

~
d~
Ronald E. Wilson, Chairperson
Judicial Investigation Commission

REW/tat