CANON 5
A judge shall so conduct the judge's extrajudicial activities as to minimize the risk of conflict with judicial obligations
RULE 5.1 Extrajudicial Activities in General
(A) Judges shall conduct their extrajudicial activities in a manner that would not cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially as a judge, demean the judicial office, or interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties.
(B) A judge shall not:
(1) participate in activities that can be reasonably anticipated to lead to frequent disqualification;
(2) participate in activities that would appear to reasonable, fully informed persons to undermine the judge’s independence, integrity or impartiality;
(3) make use of court premises, staff, stationery, equipment or other resources for extrajudicial activities, except for incidental use involving activities that concern the law, the legal system or the administration of justice, or unless such additional use is permitted by law, administrative directive or judiciary policy. De minimis or other incidental personal use of judiciary equipment or facilities, such as telephones, computers, scanners, fax machines, and copiers, do not violate this rule.
(C) Upon notice to and approval by the Supreme Court, a judge may appear at a public hearing before an executive or legislative body or official on matters concerning the law, the legal system or the administration of justice.
(D) A judge may communicate with government officials on matters concerning the administration of justice within the judge’s official responsibility.
(E) A judge may act pro se in a matter involving the judge’s legal or economic interests, or when the judge is acting in a fiduciary capacity as permitted in Rule 5.8.
RULE 5.2 Avocational Activities
(A) A judge may write, lecture and speak on non-legal subjects, and engage in the arts, sports and other social and recreational activities provided these activities do not detract from the dignity of the judicial office or interfere with the performance of judicial duties, and provided further that the judge is not compensated therefor.
(B) A judge may teach non-legal subjects provided the judge is not compensated therefor.
RULE 5.3 Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations
(A) A judge shall not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on any of the bases prohibited by Rule 3.6(A).
(B) A judge shall not accept benefits from or use the facilities of an organization if the judge knows or should know that the organization practices invidious discrimination on any of the bases prohibited by Rule 3.6(A), or as otherwise proscribed by law.
COMMENT:
[1] A judge’s membership in an organization that practices invidious discrimination creates the perception that the judge’s impartiality is impaired.
[2] An organization is generally said to discriminate invidiously if it arbitrarily excludes from membership, on the bases prohibited by Rule 3.6(A), persons who would otherwise be eligible for admission. Whether an organization practices invidious discrimination cannot be determined from an examination of an organization’s current membership rolls, but rather depends on how the organization selects members, as well as other relevant factors, including but not limited to whether the organization is dedicated to religious, ethnic or cultural values of legitimate common interest to its members. Organizations dedicated to the preservation of religious, spiritual, charitable, civic or cultural values that do not stigmatize any excluded persons are not considered to discriminate invidiously.
[3] When a judge learns that an organization to which the judge belongs engages in invidious discrimination, the judge must resign immediately from the organization.
RULE 5.4 Participation in Educational, Religious, Charitable, Fraternal or Civic Organizations and Activities
A judge may participate in civic and charitable activities that do not reflect adversely on the judge's impartiality or interfere with the performance of judicial duties. A judge may serve as an officer, director, trustee or non-legal advisor of an educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or civic organization whose purpose is not to advance the economic or political advantage of its members, subject to the following limitations:
(A) A judge shall not serve if it is likely that the organization will be engaged in proceedings that would ordinarily come before the judge or will be regularly engaged in adversarial proceedings in any court.
(B) A judge shall not solicit funds for any educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or civic organization, or use or permit the use of the prestige of the judicial office for that purpose. A judge shall not be listed as an officer, director or trustee of such an organization in any letters or other documents used in such solicitations. A judge shall not be a speaker or the guest of honor at an organization's fundraising events, but may attend such events and contribute to such organizations.
(C) A judge shall not give investment advice to such an organization, nor may a judge serve on its board of directors or trustees if the board has the responsibility for approving investment decisions.
(D) A judge’s name, but not a judge’s position and title, may appear on the organization’s letterhead and in literature regarding that organization.
COMMENT:
[1] The changing nature of some organizations and their relationship to the law makes it necessary for judges to reexamine regularly the activities of each organization with which they are affiliated to determine whether the relationship should be continued.
[2] Judges shall inform organizations of the limitations associated with their participation in educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or civic organizations and activities. Specific prohibitions include identification of a judge’s position and title on the letterhead of an organization, regardless of the intended use of that letterhead, and any involvement of a judge in the solicitation of funds for the organization.
[3] A judge's participation in an organization devoted to law-related activities is governed by Canon 4.
[4] If guidance is required as to the application of this Canon, judges should consult with the Advisory Committee on Extrajudicial Activities.
RULE 5.5 Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities
(A) Judges shall refrain from financial and business dealings that tend to reflect adversely on their impartiality, interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties, exploit the judicial position, or involve the judge in transactions with lawyers or persons likely to come before the court on which the judge serves.
(B) Judges may hold investments, including real estate, but shall not serve as an officer, director, manager, advisor or employee of any business, except upon notice to and approval by the Supreme Court.
(C) Judges should manage their investments and other financial interests to minimize the number of cases in which they are disqualified.
RULE 5.6 Acceptance of Gifts, Loans, Bequests, Benefits, or Other Things of Value
Neither a judge nor a member of the judge's family residing in the same household should accept a gift, bequest, favor or loan from anyone except as follows:
(A) A judge may accept a gift of nominal value incident to a public testimonial; books supplied by publishers on a complimentary basis for official use; or an invitation to the judge to attend a bar-related function or activity devoted to the 19 improvement of the law, the legal system or the administration of justice, except as limited by Canon 6, Rule 6;
(B) A judge may accept gifts, loans, bequests, benefits or other things of value from persons whose appearance or interest in a proceeding pending or impending before the judge would in any event require disqualification of the judge under Rule 3.17, including Rule 3.17(B)(6), which requires disqualification of a judge when the nature of the judge’s relationship to a party or an attorney would give rise to partiality or the appearance of partiality;
(C) A judge or a member of the judge's family residing in the same household may accept ordinary social hospitality; gifts, favors or commercial loans made in the regular course of business on the same terms available to the general public; or a scholarship or fellowship awarded on the same terms applied to other applicants;
(D) A judge or a member of the judge's family residing in the same household may accept any other gift, bequest, favor or loan only if the donor is not a party or other person whose interests have come or are likely to come before the judge.
(E) For the purposes of this rule, "member of the judge's family residing in the same household" means any relative of a judge by blood or marriage, civil union partner, domestic partner or a person treated by a judge as a member of the family, who resides in the same household as the judge.
RULE 5.7 Disclosure of Information
Information acquired by a judge in a judicial capacity shall not be used or disclosed by the judge in financial dealings or for any purpose not related to judicial duties.
COMMENT:
[1] In the course of performing judicial duties, a judge may acquire information of commercial or other value that is unavailable to the public. Judges shall not reveal or use such information for personal gain or for any purpose unrelated to their judicial duties.
[2] This rule is not intended to affect a judge’s ability to act on information as necessary to protect the health or safety of the judge or a member of a judge’s family, court personnel or other judicial officers when consistent with other provisions of this Code.
RULE 5.8 Fiduciary Activities
A judge shall not serve as an executor, administrator, trustee, guardian or other fiduciary, except for the estate, trust or person of a member of the judge's family, and then only when such service will not interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties. "Member of the judge's family" includes a spouse, civil union partner, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent or other relative or person with whom the judge maintains or maintained a familial relationship. As a family fiduciary a judge is subject to the following restrictions:
(A) The judge shall not serve as a fiduciary if that service is likely to result in litigation that would ordinarily come before the judge, or if the estate, trust or ward becomes involved in adversary proceedings in the court on which the judge serves or under its appellate jurisdiction.
(B) While acting as a fiduciary for a member of the judge's family, a judge is subject to the same restrictions on financial activities that apply to the judge in a personal capacity.
(C) On becoming a judge, persons serving as fiduciaries shall comply with this rule as soon as reasonably practicable, upon notice to and approval by the Supreme Court.
COMMENT:
When a judge who is a beneficiary of an estate serves as an executor or administrator as permitted by this rule and receives a fee solely for the purpose of reducing the tax liability of the estate, receipt of that fee does not constitute "compensation" under Canon 6.
RULE 5.9 Serving as Arbitrator or Mediator
A judge shall not act as an arbitrator or mediator or perform other judicial functions apart from the judge’s official duties unless expressly authorized by law.
COMMENT:
This Rule does not prohibit a judge from participating in arbitration, mediation, or settlement conferences performed as part of assigned judicial duties. Rendering dispute resolution services apart from those duties is prohibited unless it is expressly authorized by law.
RULE 5.10 Practice of Law
A judge shall not practice law, with or without compensation.
RULE 5.11 Appointments to Governmental Positions
A judge shall not accept appointment to a governmental committee, commission or other position except with prior approval of the Supreme Court as provided in the Rules of Court.
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