Comments
Note: Resources associated with a meeting or hearing are located in the Meetings & Hearings section. Drafts available for public comment may be accessed in the Commission Drafts section.
Comments refer to documents submitted for review by the Commission. There are currently two categories of comments, including those based on the original 1990 Code and those based on the preliminary drafts of the new code. Additional categories of comments will be added during subsequent stages of rule development.
Comments on 1990 Code | Comments on Preliminary Draft of Code | Comments on Final Draft of Code
Comments on Preliminary Draft of Code
ABA Children and the Law
ABA Criminal Justice Section Ad Hoc Committee
ABA Judicial Division National Conference of the Administrative Judiciary (NCALJ)
Comment (November 3, 2005)
Application
ABA Judicial Division National Conference of Specialized Court Judges (NCSCJ)
-
Lt Col Rodger A. Drew, USAF
Staff Judge Advocate
Comment (November 3, 2005)
Appearance of Impropriety, Rule 2.12 and 4.15 and Canon 3
Summary
ABA Judicial Division National Conference of State Trial Judges
-
Judge Annette J. Scieszinski
Chair
Ethics and Professionalism Committee
Comment (August 9, 2005)
Rule 2.04
Summary
ABA Section of Business Law
ABA Section of Dispute Resolution
ABA Senior Lawyers Division
Judge J. Thomas Greene, Utah Judge James A. Noe, Washington Senior Lawyers Division Judiciary Committee Co-Chairs
-
Comment
(July 14, 2004)
Canons 1 and 2
Summary
Summary - Terminology
The Judicial Council of California’s Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants urges the Commission to consider changes to Canons 1 and 2, as well as other canons, to assure judges that they act ethically when they ensure that self-represented, or pro se, litigants are able to present their cases. The Judicial Council summarizes recommendations of its Statewide Action Plan for Serving Self-Represented Litigants, adopted in February 2004 and describes numerous projects underway to implement the Action Plan, several of which involve development of best practices for judges hearing cases involving self-represented litigants.
Comment (September 29, 2004)Debriefing (Rule 2.07)
Knowledge (Rule 2.17)
Impairs (Rule 2.19)
Canons 3 and 4
Summary
ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services and the ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants
-
Hon. Lora J. Livingston
Chair, ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery
of Legal Services
William Whitehurst Chair, ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants
Comment (September 8, 2005)
Pro Se Litigation
Summary
ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility
-
Charles E. McCallum
Chair
Comment (April 12, 2005)
Canons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility
-
William B. Dunn
Chair
Cover Letter (September 15, 2005)
Comment (September 15, 2005)
All Canons, Preamble, Scope and Terminology
Summary
ABA Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants
Norman Lefstein, Chair Indigent Advisory Group
ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service
Marilyn J. Smith Assistant Committee Counsel
-
Comment
(December 28, 2004)
Rule 4.04
ABA Standing Committee on Professionalism
John T. Berry Chair
-
Comment
(January 12, 2005)
General Canon 1 and Rules 4.13 - 4.16
Comment (August 29, 2005)
Canons 1, 2 and 3
Summary
ABA Standing Committee on Professional Discipline
Honorable Barbara Kerr Howe Chair
-
Comment
(October 27, 2004)
Canons 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 Overview
Canon 1 (Clean Copy) Canon 1 (Redline Copy)
Canon 2 (Clean Copy) Canon 2 (Redline Copy)
Canon 3 (Clean Copy) Canon 3 (Redline Copy)
Canon 4 (Clean Copy) Canon 4 (Redline Copy)
Canon 4 Rules 4.13-4.16 (Clean Copy) Canon 4 Rules 4.13-4.16 (Redline Copy)
Canon 5 (Clean Copy) Canon 5 (Redline Copy)
Comment (March 15, 2005)
Canon 5 and Overview
Canon 5 (Clean Copy) Canon 5 (Redline Copy)
Overview
American Center for Law and Justice
American Judicature Society
-
Cynthia Gray, Director
Center for Judicial Ethics
Comment (July 2004)
May 2004 Partial Draft of Revisions
Comment (October 2004)
July 2004 Partial Draft of Revisions
Summary
Comment (November 2004)
Canon 4 Gift Provisions and Terminology
Comment (March 15, 2005)
Canon 5
Summary
Comment (July 19, 2005)
Cumulative Comments
Comment (July 28, 2005)
Canon 5
Comment (July 28, 2005)
Attachment 1
Comment (July 28, 2005)
Attachment 2
Comment (September 19, 2005)
General Comments
Comment (September 19, 2005)
Canon 1
Comment (September 19, 2005)
Canon 2
Comment (September 19, 2005)
Canon 3
Comment (September 19, 2005)
Canon 4
Comment (September 19, 2005)
Canon 5
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
-
Ronald C. Minkoff, Chair
Joint Subcommittee
Comment (August 3, 2004)
Canons 1 and 2
Summary
Comment (January 28, 2005)
Canon 2: Rules 2.12 and 2.19 Canon 3: Rules 3.01 and 3.03 Canon 4: Rules 4.01, 4.02, 4.04, 4.13 and 4.16
Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel
Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers ("APRL")
Ronald C. Minkoff, Chair APRL Committee on Model Code of Judicial Conduct
Bench and Bar Committee of the State Bar of Wisconsin
-
George C. Brown
Executive Director
State Bar of Wisconsin
Cover Letter (September 14, 2005)
Comment (September 14, 2005)
Canon 5
Summary
Besser, Matt
-
Law Clerk to the
Honorable Richard L. Nygaard
United States Court of Appeals
Comment (March 15, 2005)
Canon 3E(1)
Summary
Border, Judge Patrick W.
Boy Scouts of America
David K. Park National Legal Counsel
Brennan Center for Justice
James Sample Wendy Weiser Associate Counsel Democracy Program
Bufford, Samuel L.
Judge United States Bankruptcy Court Central District of Los Angeles
-
Comment
(August 13, 2004)
Rules 4.01 and 4.02
California Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Code of Judicial Ethics
Associate Justice Richard D. Fybel Chair
-
Comment
(August 26, 2005)
Preamble, Rule 1.01, Rules 2.05, 2.10, 2.12, Rule 3.04, Rules 4.04, 4.12, and Canon 5
Summary
Community Rights Counsel
-
Douglas T. Kendall
Executive Director
Washington, D.C.
Comment (November 19, 2004)
Rules 4.13 - 4.16 and Terminology
Summary
Cratsley, Justice John C.
Associate Justice Massachusetts Superior Court
Delaware State Bar Association
Helen L. Winslow President
-
Comment
(September 9, 2005)
Rules 2.05, 2.12 and 2.14
Demers, David A.
Chief Judge Circuit Court Sixth Judicial District State of Florida
Drucker, Geoff
Comment (September 7, 2005)
Rule 2.09
Summary
Edmunds, Judge Robert H.
Freedman, Monroe H.
Fox, Lawrence J.
-
Drinker, Biddle and Reath LLP
Philadelphia, PA
The Appearance of Impropriety
Amended
Comment (June 23, 2004)
Canon 1
Summary
Gable & Gotwals
George, Judge Ronald M.
Glazebrook, Judge James
Goldschmidt, Jona PhD
Gray, Judge Karla M.
HALT - An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform
Hagen, David L.
Comment (November 17, 2004)
Rule 4.13
Summary
Comment (August 1, 2005)
Canon 1
Summary
Comment (August 3, 2005)
Preamble and Scope
Comment (August 3, 2005)
Rule 2.07
Comment (August 3, 2005)
Rule 3.04
Comment (August 3, 2005)
Rule 5.01
Summary
Hollenhorst, Judge Tom
-
Associate Justice
Fourth District Court of Appeal (California)
Division 2
Comment (September 12, 2005)
Pro se litigants
Summary
Ifill, Sherrilyn A.
-
Associate Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
Comment (August 6, 2004)
Canon 1
Summary
Rule 1.01, Comment 4
Observing Standards of Judicial Conduct
Professor Ifill urges the Commission to assume leadership in defining the nature of the judicial function as it relates to judicial impartiality and the relevance of diversity to impartiality. Specifically, the Commission should define judicial impartiality, not only in its familiar sense connoting lack of bias by an individual judge for or against a particular party, but also in a fashion that encompasses structural impartiality as related to overall composition of the bench in a jurisdiction. Professor Ifill recommends addition of the following language to Rule 1.01, Comment 4:
“Impartiality in the context of judges denotes an open mind and the absence of bias in favor of, or against, individual parties or classes of parties. An impartial judiciary is one in which judges are selected by means that are fair and equitable and that result in a qualified and diverse bench.”
Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee
International Association of Lesbian & Gay Judges
-
Sidney A. Galton
President
Comment (November 17, 2004)
Rule 3.03
Summary
Rule 3.03
Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations
The International Association of Lesbian and Gay Judges (IALGJ) suggests the following revision of Rule 3.03 which incorporates language of Rule 3.03 Comment 3 to eliminate the confusing phrase “to any significant extent” and to provide clarity of the purpose of the rule. (Additions underlined; deletions struck through.)
“3.03 Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations. A judge shall not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, and shall not use the facilities of such an organization in a manner sufficient to create the impression that the judge approves of the organization and its practices
James Madison Center for Free Speech
-
James Bopp, Jr.
General Counsel
Comment (March 15, 2005)
Rule 5.02(d)
Summary
Comment (September 15, 2005)
All Canons
Summary
Judicial Council of California
-
Kathleen E. O'Leary
Chair
Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants
Comment (July 29, 2004)
Summary
The Judicial Council of California’s Task Force on Self-Represented Litigants urges the Commission to consider changes to Canons 1 and 2, as well as other canons, to assure judges that they act ethically when they ensure that self-represented, or pro se, litigants are able to present their cases. The Judicial Council summarizes recommendations of its Statewide Action Plan for Serving Self-Represented Litigants, adopted in February 2004 and describes numerous projects underway to implement the Action Plan, several of which involve development of best practices for judges hearing cases involving self-represented litigants.
Kahn, David L.
Katz, Judge David A.
-
U.S. District Court
Northern District of Ohio
Comment (July 14, 2005)
Rules 2.08, 2.12, and 4.15
Summary
Kaufman, Andrew L.
-
Professor
Harvard Law School
Comment (June 9, 2004)
Canons 1 and 2
Summary
Comment
Rule 3.03
Summary
Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations
This document is an article by Professor Kaufman entitled Judicial Correctness: Section 2C of the Code of Judicial Conduct. In his overview of the article, Professor Kaufman explains: "The thesis of the article is that it has been easier to decide that codes governing judicial conduct should express an anti-discrimination principle than it has been to formulate the words that will target the forbidden conduct with sufficient preciseness, that will justify each prohibition, and that will then withstand a constitutional attack based on First Amendment principles. The result of the effort to do so to date has been language that may prohibit less than it promises and more than it should or, in the language of constitutional law, that it is both underinclusive and overinclusive and may, in some of its applications, fall victim to the Supreme Court's current interpretation of the First Amendment." The article sets forth the difficulties with Section 2C as presently worded, then considers five alternatives, of which Professor Kaufman prefers repeal and leaving "its work to be done by a combination of laws of general applicability, the law of disqualification, the electoral and appointive process, and social pressure."
Larson, Judge John W.
McCarter, Judge Dorothy
McKoski, Judge Ray
-
Circuit Judge
Lake County, Illinois
Comment (July 15, 2004)
Rules 2.02, 2.07, 2.08 and 2.12
Comment (October 19, 2004)
Rules 3.01 and 4.04
Summary
McVey, Judge Samuel D.
Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards
-
David S. Paull, Executive Secretary
Comment (May 20, 2004)
Canons 1 and 2 Rules 1.01, 2.02, 2.03, 2.05, 2.07, 2.20
Summary
Montana Commission on the Code of Judicial Conduct
Morris, Honorable Joseph W.
Comment (May 6, 2005)
Rule 3.03
Summary
National Association of Women Judges
-
Judge Sandra Thompson
Los Angeles, CA Superior Court
Comment (May 26, 2005)
Canon 2 and Rule 2.05
Summary
Comment (September 14, 2005)
Rules 2.05 and 2.10
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
-
Judge Stephen M. Rubin
President
Mary V. Mentaberry Executive Director
Comment (August 1, 2005)
Rules 2.12, 2.17, 2.18, 2.19 and 3.01
Summary
Comment (September 15, 2005)
Canons 2, 3 and 4
New Hampshire Judicial Conduct Commission
-
Anthony McManus
Executive Secretary
Comment (August 3, 2005)
Appearance of Impropriety
New York County Lawyers' Association
Comment (July 27, 2005)
Canon 5 - Part II
New York State Bar Association
-
Marjorie E. Gross
Chair
Special Committee to Review the Code of Judicial
Conduct
Comment (July 29, 2004)
Canons 1 and 2 Rules 1.01, 2.02, 2.04, 2.05, 2.07, 2.08, 2.09(a)(2), 2.09(a)(3), 2.09(b), 2.12 D(1), 2.12 E, 2.12 G(3), 2.15, 2.20, and Canon 2 Official Conduct
Summary
New York State Bar Association Special Committee to Review the Code of Judicial Conduct
-
Kathleen R. Mulligan Baxter
Senior Director
Legal and Governmental Affairs New York State
Bar Association
Comment (September 14, 2005)
Canons 2, 3, 4 and 5
Ohio State Bar Association Judicial Administration and Legal Reform Committee
Oklahoma Bar Association Access to Justice Committee
-
Professor Judith Maute
Comment (July 1, 2004)
Canons 1 and 4 Judicial Support of Pro Bono Activities
Summary
Parness, Jeffrey
-
Professor
Northern Illinois University
Comment (June 16, 2004)
Rule 2.09(a)(4)
Summary
Comment (April 13, 2005)
Cover Letter
Comment (April 13, 2005)
Canon 2
Summary
Comment (August 2, 2005)
Cover Letter
Comment (August 2, 2005)
Facilitating Civil Case Settlements and the Description of Adjudication
Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board
Phelps Dunbar LLP
Philadelphia Bar Assocation Professional Responsibility Committee Subcommittee
-
Nancy Winkelman
Chair
Comment (October 12, 2005)
Canon 5
Public Citizen Litigation Group
Saufley, Judge Leigh I.
Shenkin, Judge Robert
-
Court of Common Pleas
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Comment (August 9, 2005)
Pro Se Litigants
Summary
Sherman, Judge Louis A.
-
Chief Judge
Norfolk General District Court
Comment (September 9, 2005)
Rules 1.03, 3.02, 3.04, 4.13 and 4.15
Summary
Smith, W. Calvin
Stanford Law School
-
Alan B. Morrison
Senior Lecturer
Comment (Dec 16, 2004)
Canons 3 and 4
Comment (June 6, 2005)
Canon 5
Summary
Comment (July 18, 2005)
Canon 4
Summary
Comment (July 18, 2005)
Canon 2
Comment (August 11, 2005)
Drafting Suggestions
Temple University
The Thom Seymour Paine Foundation
Weber, Walter M.
Comment (July 27, 2005)
Rule 3.04
Weller, Barbara
Gibbs Law Firm, P.A. Seminole, FL
Comment (September 27, 2004)
Rule 2.05 Bias and Discrimination
Weinstein, Jack B.
-
Senior District Judge
Comment (October 8, 2004)
Gift Provisions of Canon 4
Yoder, Ronnie A.
-
Chief Administrative Law Judge
U.S. Department of Transportation
Washington, D.C.
Comment (August 4, 2004)
Canons 1, 2, 3 and 4
Comment (June 14, 2004)
Canons 1, 2, and 3
Comment (November 17, 2004)
Gift Provisions 4.13 - 4.16
Zorza, Richard
