May a West Virginia judge or magistrate also serve as a volunteer firefighter or EMT?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2023. 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 the Commission to revisit JIC Opinion 2020-28 and permit case-by-case decisions on judges or magistrates serving as volunteer firefighters or emergency medical technicians. The Commission unanimously declined to revisit that opinion.
It reaffirmed that judges and magistrates cannot hold either emergency-service role while serving as judicial officers. The opinion says the activity could cause frequent disqualification and could give the public an impression of bias toward first responders.
In practice
The opinion leaves Opinion 2020-28's bar in place and rejects the requested case-by-case exception for concurrent volunteer firefighting or EMT work.
Common questions
Q: Did the Commission create a case-by-case exception?
A: No. It unanimously declined the request to reconsider its earlier opinion.
Q: What reasons did the Commission give?
A: It cited possible frequent disqualification and a public perception of bias toward first responders.
Background and rules framework
The opinion applies the prior holding of JIC Opinion 2020-28. It does not cite a numbered West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct provision.
Citations and references
Other opinions cited:
- JIC Advisory Opinion 2020-28, concurrent judicial and emergency-service roles.
Source
- Landing page: West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission advisory opinions
- Original PDF: JIC Advisory Opinion 2023-24, redacted
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official redacted PDF for research purposes. The linked PDF is authoritative.
JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
WV Judicial Tower - Suite 700 A
4700 MacCorkle Ave., SE
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
(304) 558-0169
October 20, 2023
Re: JIC Advisory Opinion 2023-24
Dear Judge :
You recently asked the Judicial Investigation Commission to reconsider Advisory Opinion 2020-28 and allow a case-by-case determination regarding judges and magistrates participating as volunteer firefighters and/or emergency medical technicians.
The Commission considered your request at its October 13, 2023 meeting and unanimously declined to revisit the opinion. Therefore, based upon the holding of JIC Advisory Opinion 2020-28, judges and magistrates cannot serve as an EMT or volunteer firefighter while concurrently serving as a judicial officer since the extracurricular activity could result in your frequent disqualification and it could lead the public to conclude, however wrong it may be, that you are biased in favor of first responders.
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,
Alan D. Moats, Chairperson
Judicial Investigation Commission
ADM/tat
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