Digest:  A judge may not serve on a municipal ethics board that will hear complaints against members of the municipal government.
 

Rule:  22 NYCRR 100.2(A); 100.4(A)(3);
           Opinions 95-144 (Vol. XIII); 98-75 (Vol. XVII);
           98-102 (Vol. XVII).
 
 

Opinion:

            A part-time judge asks whether it is permissible to serve on a municipal ethics board. While the full scope of the board's authority has not yet been determined, the judge indicates that the basic concept is for the board to hear complaints against members of the municipal government.

            A judge may participate in extra-judicial activities that "do not interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties and are not incompatible with judicial office." 22 NYCRR 100.4(A)(3). In several prior opinions, the Committee has indicated that this rule precludes a judge from those extra-judicial activities that are likely to generate public controversy. Opinion 95-144 (Vol. XIII); Opinion 98-75 (Vol. XVII); Opinion 98-102 (Vol. XVII). In this instance it is virtually inevitable that complaints against members of the municipal government involving allegations of unethical conduct are likely to generate public controversy. In addition, if a criminal charge or other legal claim relating to an alleged ethical violation is filed in the judge's court, the public's "confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary" could be impaired. 22 NYCRR 100.2(A). For these reasons a judge should not serve on a municipal ethics board that will hear complaints against members of the municipal government.