Ezel / Ethics Opinions / SBAND

May a district judge's lawyer-spouse appear before other judges in the same district?

Short answer The committee said the lawyer-spouse was not prohibited under North Dakota's professional-conduct rules from appearing before other district judges or courts in the district. It left judicial disqualification questions outside its response.
Bar
SBAND
Issued
May 31, 1994
Source
View Original PDF

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 1994. Ask about yours and see what the current North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.

How much weight this carries: Under North Dakota Rule for Lawyer Discipline 1.2(B), a lawyer who acts in good faith and in reasonable reliance on a written opinion of the association's ethics committee is not subject to sanction for the conduct the opinion addresses. Source.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official ethics opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ethics opinion (PDF)

Plain-English summary

A district judge's spouse, also a lawyer, asked whether appearing before other judges in the district created a conflict or an appearance problem. The request said she did not appear before her own spouse, who recused from matters involving her.

The committee said North Dakota Rule 1.7 did not address the posed situation directly and Rule 3.5's prohibition on improperly influencing a court did not supply a direct or implied bar. It concluded that the lawyer-spouse could practice before other district judges and courts in the district under the professional-conduct rules. It noted that judicial disqualification was governed by the Code of Judicial Conduct and did not decide that separate issue.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1994, before North Dakota's 2006 revisions to its Rules of Professional Conduct. The later North Dakota Opinion 06-05 states: “On August 1, 2006, material changes to N.D.R. Prof. Conduct 1.10(a) will take effect.” Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement.

Common questions

Q: Did the committee bar appearances before every other judge in the district?

A: No. It said the professional-conduct rules did not prohibit those appearances.

Q: Did it decide when the lawyer's spouse or another judge must recuse?

A: No. It identified the Code of Judicial Conduct as governing judicial disqualification and left that question outside the opinion.

Background and rules framework

The opinion discusses North Dakota professional-conduct Rules 1.7 and 3.5 and identifies the separate judicial-disqualification framework.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

  • North Dakota Rules 1.7 and 3.5.

See also

Source

Original opinion text

Full opinion text unavailable from the official source; see the linked source above for the complete text.

What do the rules say today, for your facts?

This opinion is from 1994. Ezel checks the current North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct against your situation and cites the rules it relies on.

Opens in Ezel Pro.

  • Checks the law as it stands today, not only this page
  • Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
  • Chat, drafting and research in one workspace