Judicial Conduct · 2-8% of the exam
23.1.2Appearance of impropriety and judicial prestige (CJC Rules 1.2, 1.3, 2.4)
On this page
- CJC Rules 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
Plain English
Conduct is forbidden where a reasonable observer would read it as a breach of the Code or as reflecting on the judge's fitness, temperament, impartiality, or honesty; the test is objective and it measures judges, not lawyers. A judge may not exploit the office's prestige for anyone's economic or personal interest, must not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism, and may not convey, or permit others to convey, the impression that any person or organization is in a position to influence the judge.
Rule
CJC Rules 1.2, 1.3, 2.4
CJC Rule 1.2 (Appearance of impropriety): conduct is forbidden when a reasonable observer would see it as either a CJC breach or as a reflection against the judge's fitness, temperament, impartiality, or honesty. The test is OBJECTIVE; no actual violation need be shown. This appearance standard reaches judges only — lawyers are not measured by it.
CJC Rule 1.3 (Abuse of prestige): a judge may not exploit — or let anyone else exploit — the office's prestige to further any economic or personal interest, be it the judge's own or a third party's.
- Prohibited: invoking judicial status to a traffic officer; using official letterhead to gain personal business advantage.
- Permitted: personal reference on official letterhead if the judge clearly indicates the communication is personal and no perception of judicial pressure would result.
- Permitted: recommending the judge's own law clerk — a reference or recommendation based on the judge's personal knowledge (cmt [2]), and cooperation in the process of judicial selection on a person's professional qualifications (cmt [3]).
- For-profit publication: a judge who writes for a publisher should not permit anyone associated with the publication to exploit the judge's office, and should retain sufficient control over the advertising in the publication contract to prevent it (cmt [4]) — the violation is the judge's own permitting or failure to retain control, not the publisher's act standing alone.
- Guard: the letterhead in this bullet is the court's own official letterhead; a charity's own letterhead is a different question, governed by CJC Rule 3.7 cmt [4] (Chapter 24).
CJC Rule 2.4 (External influences):
- the judge must not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism, and must not permit family, social, political, financial, or other interests or relationships to influence the judge's judicial conduct or judgment;
- nor may the judge convey, or permit others to convey, the impression that any person or organization is in a position to influence the judge.
Example 1
Ex. 1
Judge Carla sends a letter on official court letterhead to a roofing contractor, suggesting a reduced bid for her close friend and closing with her judicial title. That same week she sends a handwritten note to a different contractor recommending the same friend, prefaced: "I write this in my personal capacity, not as a judge." Line Carla's two letters up side by side. The letterhead communication violates CJC Rule 1.3, which reaches conduct advancing anyone's interests. The handwritten note falls within the permitted exception. Carla's first letter is on the court's own official letterhead and her second removes the indicia of office; a charity's own letterhead is a different question, governed by CJC Rule 3.7 cmt [4] (Chapter 24).
Trap
Questions · 2
Q 01ch23-e01
Question 1 of 2 · Rule CJC 1.3
Judge sits on a state trial court. A close friend of Judge runs a catering business and applied to lease a storefront owned by Landlord. Judge wrote to Landlord on the court's official stationery, described the friend as reliable, and urged that the space be leased to the friend on favorable terms. The letter identified Judge by judicial title and said nothing about being written in a personal capacity. Landlord later stated that she felt no pressure from the letter and leased the storefront to a different applicant. No matter involving Landlord or the friend has ever come before Judge. Is Judge subject to discipline?
Keys 1 to 4 choose.