Opinion 25-89

June 26, 2025

Facts/Issue:  May a judge who presides in a veterans treatment court organize and attend a “field trip” for treatment court participants and staff to partake together in a not-for-profit veterans organization’s weekly lunch?

Discussion:   Although treatment courts follow a different model than ordinary criminal courts, treatment court judges must still uphold the independence of the judiciary.

                   In our view, the proposed field trip with treatment court participants would create an appearance of impropriety.  Among other risks, socializing with defendants in an informal setting outside the presence of counsel could expose the judge unnecessarily to the risk of inappropriate ex parte communications or extra-judicial knowledge that could cast doubt on the judge’s impartiality or raise questions about disqualification.  Indeed, as we noted in a prior opinion, the conversations would be “entirely unrecorded and unmonitored by counsel for either side, leaving both the judge and the defendant potentially vulnerable to imperfect recollections and innocent misunderstandings.  This could lead to, among other things, unnecessary challenges to the judge’s decisions at subsequent compliance hearings or in other forums.”

Conclusion:  A judge who presides in a veterans treatment court may not organize or attend “field trips” with treatment court participants and staff to attend a not-for-profit veterans organization’s weekly lunch.

Authorities:  Opinions 19-98; 15-47; 14-151.