Opinion 93-101

October 28, 1993

Digest:         A judicial candidate's proposed radio commercials are improper because they imply a predisposition to decide particular classes of cases in a particular way.

Rule:            22 NYCRR 100.3(c)(c)(1)

Opinion:

         A town justice, who is running for re-election, inquires whether the scripts of four radio commercials proposed to be aired are proper. In these scripts the justice recounts actions taken in DWI cases, domestic violence cases, and violation of noise and public nuisance ordinance cases, and implies what the justice will do in future cases of the same nature.

         It is the opinion of this Committee that all the proposed radio commercials are improper because they imply a predisposition to decide particular classes of cases in a particular way, so that the justice's impartiality might reasonably be questioned, in violation of the spirit of §100.3(c)(1) of the Rules of the Chief Administrator.