May a judge accept an award at a public child abuse prevention ceremony?

Plain-English summary

A judge was selected for an award recognizing child abuse prevention work at an annual public flag-raising ceremony outside the courthouse. The request said the event was not a fundraiser and did not involve a paid meal or rented hall.

The Commission applied Rules 3.1 and 3.13(B)(1). It permitted attendance and acceptance of the award because the event was open to the public and the award would not appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge’s independence, integrity or impartiality.

In practice

The permission addresses the described public, nonfundraising ceremony and its award.

Common questions

Q: May the judge attend the ceremony?

A: Yes. The Commission permitted attendance at the public event.

Q: May the judge accept the award?

A: Yes. The Commission found the described award would not appear to undermine judicial independence, integrity or impartiality.

Background and rules framework

Rule 3.1(A)-(C) limits outside activities that interfere with duties, cause frequent disqualification or appear to undermine impartiality. Rule 3.13(B)(1) permits acceptance without public reporting of items with little extrinsic value, such as plaques, certificates and trophies.

Citations and references

West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct:

• Rule 3.1(A)-(C), extrajudicial activities.
• Rule 3.13(B)(1), items with little extrinsic value.

See also

• WV JIC Advisory Opinion 2022-23
• WV JIC Advisory Opinion 2023-14

Source

• Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
• Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 2021-07, redacted

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

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JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
City Center East - Suite 1200 A
4700 MacCorkle Ave., SE
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
(304) 558-0169 • FAX (304) 558-0831

Aptil 5, 2021

Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 2021-07.

Dear Judge

Your request for an advisory opinion to Counsel was recently reviewed by the Judicial Investigation Commission. The factual scenaiio giving rise to your request is as follows:

You have been selected to receive an award as part of an annual Ceremony. The ceremony is held every year on April 30th for Chi1d Abuse Prevention Month outside the Courthouse and the award is in recognition of an individual who helps prevent child abuse and neglect. The event is sponsored bv and
. According to you, this is simply a flag raising ceremony. There is nothing being paid for by the sponsors, such as a meal or renting an event hall, and it is not tied to any fundraiser. You want to know if you can attend the event and accept the award.

To address your questions, the Commi's sion has reviewed Rule 3.1 and 3.13 of the Code of Judicial Conduct:

Rule 3.1 Extrajudicial Activities in General

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:

J IC Advisoty Opinion 2021-07
Apri I 5, 2021
Page 2 of2

(A) Participate in activities that will interfere with the proper perfmmance of the judge's judicial duties;
(B) Participate in activities that will lead to frequent disqualification of the judge:
(C) Participate in activities that would appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge's independence, integrity or impartiality;

Rule 3.13 Acceptance and Reporting of Gifts, Loans, etc.

(B) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, or by paragraph (A) a judge may accept the following without publicly repo1iing such acceptance:

(1) Items with little extrinsic value such as plaques, certificates, trophies and greeting cards.

Based upon the foregoing, the Commission is of the opinion that you may attend the event and accept the award since it is open to the public as a whole and the award would not appear to a reasonable person to undennine your independence, integrity or impartiality. The Commission hopes that this opinion fully addresses the issues which you have raised. Please do not hesitate to contact the Commission should you have any questions, comments or concerns.

Sincerely,

a~~
Alan D. Moats, Chairperson
Judicial [nvestigation Commission

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