As of August 31, 2016
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
CPR POLICY IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
COMPARISON OF ABA MODEL JUDICIAL CODE AND STATE VARIATIONS
Rule 1.3 Avoiding Abuse of the Prestige of Judicial Office
A judge shall not abuse the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic
interests of the judge or others, or allow others to do so.
COMMENT
[1]
It is improper for a judge to use or attempt to use his or her position to gain personal
advantage or deferential treatment of any kind. For example, it would be improper for a judge to
allude to his or her judicial status to gain favorable treatment in encounters with traffic officials.
Similarly, a judge must not use judicial letterhead to gain an advantage in conducting his or her
personal business.
[2]
A judge may provide a reference or recommendation for an individual based upon the
judge’s personal knowledge. The judge may use official letterhead if the judge indicates that the
reference is personal and if there is no likelihood that the use of the letterhead would reasonably
be perceived as an attempt to exert pressure by reason of the judicial office.
[3]
Judges may participate in the process of judicial selection by cooperating with appointing
authorities and screening committees, and by responding to inquiries from such entities
concerning the professional qualifications of a person being considered for judicial office.
[4]
Special considerations arise when judges write or contribute to publications of for-profit
entities, whether related or unrelated to the law. A judge should not permit anyone associated with
the publication of such materials to exploit the judge’s office in a manner that violates this Rule or
other applicable law. In contracts for publication of a judge’s writing, the judge should retain
sufficient control over the advertising to avoid such exploitation.
Seven (7) states have identical language (AR, CO, DC, MN, MT, OH and WA)
Twenty-two (22) states have similar language (AZ, CA, CT, HI, IN, IA, KS, ME, MD, MO, NE,
NV, NH, NM, ND, OK, OR, PA, SD, TN, UT, and WY)
One (1) state has different language (DE)
AL
AK
AZ
Effective
9/1/2009
[2] in second sentence replaces “official” with “judicial” and deletes requirement that judge
indicate reference is personal
[3] adds “by recommending qualified candidates for judicial office” after “screening committees”
and “and volunteering information” after “inquiries from”
[4] deletes “whether related or unrelated to the law”
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As of August 31, 2016
AR
Effective
7/1/2009
CA
Effective
1/1/2013
CO
Effective
7/1/10
CT
Effective
1/1/2011
DE
Effective
11/1/2008
DC
Effective
1/1/2012
FL
HI
Effective
1/1/2009
ID
Effective
7/1/2016
Identical
Canon 2B(3), 3d paragraph Deletes certain irrelevant references.
Identical
Changes “shall not abuse” to “shall not use or attempt to use”
[2]: Deletes “if there is no likelihood that”; inserts “not” between “would” and “reasonably”;
[4]: Changes “rule” to “code”
(A): similar to 2007 Model Code but replaces “shall” with “should” and “allow others to do so”
with “discourage others from doing so”
Adds: (B) A judge should not convey or permit others to convey and should discourage others
from conveying the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.
Comment: similar to portions of 1990 Model Code Canon 2B Commentary second paragraph
Identical
Title: replaces “abuse” with “misuse”
Rule: replaces “abuse” with “lend”
Adds Comment [1b]: same as first two sentences of 1990 Model Code Canon 2B Commentary
second paragraph
[1] It is improper for a judge to use or attempt to use his or her position to gain personal
advantage or deferential treatment of any kind for himself or herself or any other person. For
example, it would be improper for a judge to allude to his or her judicial status to gain favorable
treatment in encounters with traffic officials or to allude to such status in any other commercial,
financial, business, social or other personal situation to gain personal advantage or potential
deferential treatment of any kind.
Adds: [2] A judge shall not use judicial letterhead to gain an advantage or potential deferential
treatment in conducting his or her personal business, including but not limited to financial
matters, private business dealings, discharging parental responsibility, private disputes, political
activities or charitable solicitations or endeavors. It is not an abuse of the prestige of the judicial
office to write letters on judicial letterhead, on a de minimis basis, that are congratulatory in
nature, letters of appreciation, letters of recognition or other laudatory letters written in
connection with law-related activities, community outreach activities, civic activities, or
educational activities so long as there is no reasonable likelihood that the use of the letterhead
would be perceived as any attempt to exert pressure by reason of the judicial office or to gain any
personal advantage or potential deferential treatment for the judge or others. Judges should be
cautious in writing such letters for any person who regularly appears before the court, has a matter
pending or impending before the court, political figures or other personnel such as law
enforcement officers or attorneys who appear before the court.
2
As of August 31, 2016
[3] is MR [2]
[4] is MR [3]
[5] is MR [4]: deletes last sentence of MR comment
IL
IN
Effective
1/1/2009
IA
Effective
5/3/2010
KS
Effective
3/1/2009
KY
MD
Effective
7/1/2010
MA
Effective
1/1/2016
[2]: replaces language after “personal knowledge” with “and may use official letterhead, but may
not provide a reference or recommendation if there is a likelihood that it would reasonably be
perceived as an attempt to exert pressure by reason of the judicial office”
[3]: adds “initiating communication, writing letters of recommendation” before “cooperating”
[2] Replaces language after “official letterhead” with: “for such reference or recommendation.
Except as provided in comment 3 or as a member of a nominating commission under Iowa Code
chapter 46, a judge should not provide a reference or recommendation for a person seeking
appointment to judicial office. This rule does not prohibit an applicant from listing a judge as a
reference when seeking appointment to judicial office;”
[3] Adds “specific” before “inquiries.”
Title: Replaces “abuse” with “inappropriate use”
Rule: replaces “abuse” with “lend”
[2]: replaces second sentence with “However, the use of judicial letterhead for anything other
than official court business should be exercised with the utmost caution. A judge should only use
judicial letterhead when its use could not be reasonably perceived as an attempt to
inappropriately use the prestige of judicial office to influence others.”
Title: Replaces “Abuse of the” with “Lending the;”
Replaces “abuse” with “lend;”
[2] inserts “an” before “official letterhead”; replaces “office” with “position” at end.
Identical
[2]: A judge may provide an educational or employment reference or recommendation for an
individual based on the judge's personal knowledge.* The judge may use official letterhead and
sign the recommendation using the judicial title if the judge's knowledge* of the applicant's
qualifications arises from observations made in the judge's judicial capacity. The recommendation
may not be accompanied by conduct that reasonably would be perceived as an attempt to exert
pressure on the recipient to hire or admit the applicant. Where a judge's knowledge* of the
applicant's qualifications does not arise from observations made in the judge's judicial capacity,
the judge may not use official letterhead, court email, or the judicial title, but the judge may send
a private letter stating the judge's personal recommendation. The judge may refer to the judge's
current position and title in the body of the private letter only if it is relevant to some substantive
aspect of the recommendation. Court hiring policies may impose additional restrictions on
recommendations for employment in the judicial branch, and the law* may impose additional
restrictions on recommendations for employment in state government. See, e.g., G. L. c. 66, § 3A;
G. L. c. 276, § 83; G. L. c. 211B, § 10(D). See also Trial Court Personnel Policies and Procedures
Manual, '§ 4.000, et seq. See Rule 3.3 for instances when a judge is asked to provide a character
reference on behalf of a bar applicant or provide information for a background investigation in
connection with an application for public employment or for security clearance.
[3]: Judges may participate in the process of judicial selection by cooperating with screening,
nominating, appointing, and confirming authorities. Judges may make recommendations to and
3
As of August 31, 2016
ME
Effective
9/1/2015
MI
MN
Effective
7/1/2009
MO
Effective
1/1/2012
MS
MT
Effective
1/1/2009
NE
Effective
1/1/2011
NV
Effective
1/19/2010
NH
Effective
4/1/2011
NJ
NM
Effective
1/1/2012
NY
NC
ND
Effective
7/1/2012
respond to inquiries from such entities concerning the professional qualifications of a person
being considered for judicial office. Judges also may testify at confirmation hearings.
ME replaces Model Code language “or allow others to do so” with “nor shall a judge convey or
permit others to convey the impression that any person or organization is in a special position to
influence the judge.”
Identical
Replaces [2] with:
In addition, the need for every recommendation on official stationery to recite that it is the
“personal” act of the judge is questionable. Recommendation letters of the type authorized
by judicial codes are reviewed by sophisticated individuals with a sufficient knowledge that
referenced are private, not official acts. References sent to educational institutions,
governmental agencies, scholarship committees, and businesses are not likely to be
misinterpreted as court acts.
[4] Replaces “this Rule” with “this Rule 2-1.3”
Identical
[2] Adds clause to beginning of paragraph: “Although a judge should be sensitive to possible
abuse of prestige of office”
[3]: adds “or by submitting on official letterhead letters to such entities endorsing or opposing the
person” to end
[3] Adds at the end: “Testifying as to the qualifications of a judicial nominee at a confirmation
hearing is not to be construed as a violation of this rule.”
[1] Changes last sentence to: “A judge must not use judicial letterhead in conducting his or
her personal business.”
[3] Adds at the end: “A judge may write letters of recommendation for any candidate for judicial
appointment.”
[4] Adds at the end: “A judge who publishes may include the judge’s title and include a
biographical statement in the publication.”
Replaces “abuse” in the title and in the text with “lending” and “shall not lend,” respectively.
4
As of August 31, 2016
OH
Effective
3/1/2009
OK
Effective
4/15/2011
OR
Effective
12/1/2013
PA
Effective
7/1/2014
SD
Effective
1/1/2006
TN
Effective
7/1/2012
TX
UT
Effective
4/1/2010
VT
VA
WA
Identical
Comments:
[2]: replaces language after “letterhead” with “for such reference”
[3]: adds that judges should not serve on screening committees
[4]: deletes “whether related or unrelated to the law” and replaces last sentence with “A judge who
writes or contributes to a publication does not violate this rule by allowing his or her title and
judicial experience to be used as a means of identification or to demonstrate an expertise in the
subject-matter of the publication.”
Adds [5]: “A judge should not testify unless duly summoned as a character witness. See also Rule
3.3.”
Title and subject matter of Oregon Rule 2.2 is similar to MCJC Rule 1.3.
Title changes “Abuse” to “Misuse” and inserts “Judicial” before “Office”.
OR Rule 2.2: A judge shall not use the judicial position to gain personal advantage of any kind for
the judge or any other person. However, a judge may provide a character or ability reference for a
person about whom the judge has personal knowledge.
[1]: Adds at the end: “A judge should also not lend the prestige of his or her office to advance the
private interests of others, nor convey or knowingly permit others to convey the impression that
they are in a special position to influence the judge.”
[4]: Adds “and promotion” after “advertising”
Rule 1.3 corresponds to SD Canon 2B. Changes description from “lending the prestige of office”
to “abusing” its prestige.
[2]: Adds Sentence: “A judge may use official letterhead if the judge’s professional knowledge is
germane to the purpose of the letter, such as writing a letter of recommendation for a former law
clerk or a letter of recommendation for admission to law school.”
Adds [5]: “Activities permitted by other provisions of these Rules do not fall within the scope of
RJC 1.3. See, e.g., RJCs 3.7, 3.13, 3.14, 4.1, and 4.4. For example, a judge may attend or
purchase tickets for dinners or other events sponsored by a political organization or a candidate
for public office, may publicly identify himself or herself as a candidate of a political
organization, and may seek, accept, or use endorsements from a political organization without
violating RJC 1.3.”
[1]: replaces “use” with “abuse”
[2]: in second sentence, deletes language through “personal” and replaces “use of the letterhead”
with “reference or recommendation.” Adds “In making such references or recommendations, the
judge may refer to his or her judicial office and use official letterhead only for employment or
educational opportunities” to end
[3]: replaces “cooperating” with “encouraging individuals to apply for judicial office and
communicating” and deletes language after “committees”
Identical
5
As of August 31, 2016
Effective
1/1/2011
WV
Effective
12/1/2015
WI
WY
Effective
7/1/2009
Identical
[2]: Deletes “if the judge indicates that the reference is personal and”
Adds “knowingly” before “allow”
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chart is to be considered the rendering of legal advice. The chart is intended for
educational and informational purposes only. We make every attempt to keep the chart as
accurate as possible. If you are aware of any inaccuracies in the chart, please send your
corrections or additions and the source of that information to John Holtaway, (312) 9885298, [email protected]
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