Welcome

Mission

The Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics provides ethics advice to judges, justices and quasi-judicial officials of the NYS Unified Court System about their own conduct.

Our sole mission is to help judges comply with the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct.

Co-Chairs:

Hon. Margaret T. Walsh (ret.)
Hon. Lillian Wan

Chief Counsel:

Laura L. Smith, Esq.

Next Meeting

Inquiries received by April 26 will be heard on May 9, 2024.

(Those who timely submitted inquiries for the March 14th meeting may call that afternoon or later to learn the disposition by telephone; a written opinion will ordinarily follow in due course.)
  

Contact Information

Telephone: 1-866-795-8343 (toll free)

E-Mail: part100@nycourts.gov (see guidelines).

Mailing Address (see guidelines):
Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics
c/o Laura L. Smith, Esq., Chief Counsel
25 Beaver Street, 8th floor
New York, NY 10004

 

New or Notable

  • Opinion 23-140 says that a judge must not participate in charitable fund-raising by posting announcements about an organization’s fund-raising activities on social media or posting a link to a page that solicits donations (Dec 2023).
  • Opinion 23-139 Digest: Where a full-time judge’s former law firm advises the judge that a former client recently posted an online review of the judge’s legal services, the judge must request that the law firm remove the judge’s name from such review but need not take any further action (Dec 2023).
  • Opinion 23-137 reconfirms that a judge need not report their own ethics violation to the Commission on Judicial Conduct (Dec 2023).
  • Opinion 23-122 says a judge may attend generic cultural/holiday celebrations hosted by elected public officials, where such events are free and open to the public and are paid for by state/government funds rather than campaign funds (Oct 2023).
  • Other Highlights (Aug 2023)
  • Recently Released (ongoing)

Self-Help (Finding Opinions)

Our search page provides access to the search engine and other resources.  Here are some additional alternatives:

Inquiry Status

Call us at 866-795-8343 after the meeting to learn the disposition of your own inquiry. 

A formal written opinion will follow in due course.