Recent ACJE Opinions

Released in March-May 2010:

• Opinion 09-97
  • (Digest: A judge whose first cousin’s spouse is an assistant district attorney/investigator for the District Attorney in the same county where the judge presides must disqualify him/herself in any case where his/her first cousin’s spouse is involved, including where the District Attorney’s office makes an application for a search warrant. Because an application for a search warrant is an ex parte proceeding, remittal of the disqualification is not permitted. And, because the judge’s first cousin’s spouse’s involvement in the underlying matter will not necessarily be apparent from the search warrant application, the judge must inquire in each case as to whether and to what extent his/her first cousin’s spouse is involved.)
• Opinion 09-99
  • (Digest: A part-time judge may serve on a county community services board for the county where he/she presides.)
• Opinion 09-102
  • (Digest: A part-time city court judge, who is elected to serve in one city court and is temporarily assigned to serve on an “as-needed” basis in another city court in the same county, may not appear before his/her co-judge from the other city court when that co-judge is serving as an acting Family Court judge in the same county while an order assigning him/her temporarily to the other city court is in effect.)
• Opinion 09-134
  • (Digest: An acting Supreme Court Justice who has had no judicial involvement in a home foreclosure sale to be held in the same court where he/she presides may purchase the home at the foreclosure sale but must not lend, nor appear to lend the prestige of his/her judicial office to influence the sale.)
• Opinion 09-138
  • (Digest: A judge must disqualify him/herself when an attorney from the law firm that represents the judge in private business matters appears in the judge’s court. The judge’s disqualification is subject to remittal unless a party is unrepresented.)
• Opinion 09-165
  • (Digest: (1) A Judicial Hearing Officer is prohibited from serving either as chair or counsel to an Ethics Committee for a political party.
    (2) A Judicial Hearing Officer who is only considering a run for political or public office, but is not yet an announced candidate in his/her Window Period may not attend political events.
    (3) As a private attorney, a Judicial Hearing Officer may give legal and/or ethical advice to public officers, party officials and/or political party members so long as (A) he/she is formally retained so that an attorney-client relationship exists; (B) his/her actions are clearly identifiable as those of an attorney representing a client, and not as partisan political activity; and (C) he/she is fairly compensated for his/her legal services.)
• Opinion 09-170
  • (Digest: A part-time judge may serve on the board of directors of a local not-for-profit organization that awards scholarships to aspiring seminarians, as long as the judge does not personally participate in the solicitation of funds. The judge and his/her spouse may purchase tickets to and attend the organization’s fund-raising events, but may not solicit others to attend. Finally, the judge’s name may appear in the organization’s newsletter, and his/her judicial designation (i.e., “Honorable”) may be included if comparable designations are used for other persons on the letterhead.)
• Opinion 09-219
  • (Digest: A judge who has been subpoenaed for deposition as a non-party witness by the defendant law firm in a legal malpractice action must disqualify him/herself in unrelated cases pending in his/her court where the defendant law firm appears while a motion to quash the subpoena is pending or until the judge’s deposition is completed, but only if the judge must take some judicial action in a case involving the law firm.)
• Opinion 09-223
  • (Digest: A town justice who disqualifies him/herself from all cases involving a particular attorney must do so at the outset of each case, and may not conduct an arraignment before doing so.)
• Opinion 09-242
  • (Digest: A Judge whose first degree relative is in charge of the road patrol division of the county sheriff’s department, for the same county where the judge presides, must disqualify him/herself in all sheriff’s department cases in which the relative is involved or appears and in any proceeding where officers who are subject to the relative’s supervision appear. While this disqualification is subject to remittal, except where a party appears without counsel or if a matter is before the judge ex parte, the judge should seriously consider recusal where his/her first degree relative holds such a high ranking supervisory law enforcement position.)
• Opinion 10-13
  • (Digest: A judge should not meet with the Chief of Police and the Commissioner of Public Works for the municipality where he/she presides to discuss the judge’s decisions to dismiss a number of parking tickets issued for illegal overnight parking.)
• Opinion 10-26
  • (Digest: A judge who believes that he/she can continue to preside in a judicial proceeding “fairly and impartially” need not disqualify him/herself after a court employee, without authorization, accessed the recording of a confidential (Lincoln) hearing held during such proceeding. However, if it is legally permissible to do so, the judge should disclose that the incident occurred to the adult parties and the attorneys involved in the judicial proceeding.)
• Joint Opinion 10-32 and 10-48
• (Digest: A judge may consent to a plea agreement that includes a defendant’s participation in a district attorney’s traffic ticket diversion program if the plea agreement is fair and appropriate with respect to the particular defendant and if the traffic ticket diversion program is legal.)

Letters With Old Opinions

Often used where prior opinions provide guidance and little elaboration is needed to address the inquiry.

• Opinion 10-05
  • (May judge hear cases involving county attorney's office if the judge's spouse is appointed as county attorney?)
• Opinion 10-21
  • (May judge hear matters involving a law firm that formerly represented the judge's father?)
• Opinion 10-30
  • (May part-time judge provide legal services to various charitable and civic entities; assist in their fund-raising efforts; and participate in "hobby clubs" devoted to the breeding and showing of pure-bred dogs?)
• Opinion 10-42
  • (May town clerk serve on town council?)
• Opinion 10-46
  • (May judge accept invitation to be a Fellow in residence at an undergraduate dormitory of the judge's college alma mater?)
• Opinion 10-47
  • (May a newly-elected judge prepare and submit an application to be discharged from his/her prior duties as guardian for an incapacitated person together with the final accounting?)
• Opinion 10-49
  • (May a judge accept an award from the charitable arm of a bar association at its annual fund-raising event?)
• Opinion 10-57
  • (May a judge perform in a community play sponsored by a not-for-profit arts center, where the ticket prices are standard for such theater groups and the event "is not designed to raise money for a particular charity or purpose"?
• Opinion 10-58
  • (May a judge co-chair an educational conference on a timely legal subject sponsored by a for-profit entity?)
• Opinion 10-62
  • (May a judge sponsor and move the admission of the judge's child to practice in federal district court?)