Opinion 96-75

July 31, 1996

Please Note: See 22 NYCRR 29.1(a) concerning administrative permission requirements for taking photographs, video, and the like “in a courthouse including any courtroom, office or hallway thereof, at any time or on any occasion.”

Dear :

         This is in response to your inquiry (96-75) concerning the intended use by the Law School from which you graduated, of a postcard with your photograph which features you as a “high achieving alumna.” The mailing is to prominent persons in the legal profession who may be responding to a magazine’s annual survey that ranks law schools. You also ask whether the photograph may be taken in the court room.

         The Committee perceives no ethical objection to the intended use of your photograph nor to the taking of the photograph in the court room. As you correctly note, the Committee in its letter Opinion, 88-79, Vol. II, found permissible the use of a resume and photograph of a judge in a university brochure. The Committee sees no substantive distinction between the two situations and thus is of the view that such use is permissible under the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct.

                                                                     Very truly yours,

                                                                     Thomas P. Flaherty

                                                                     Co-Chair