JOINT ABA COMMISSION REVIEWING JUDICIAL ETHICS CODE SEEKS
COMMENT ON CANONS ON PERSONAL, EXTRA-JUDICIAL CONDUCT

CHICAGO, July 22, 2004 -- The American Bar Association Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct today released partial draft revisions to canons of conduct related to personal and extra-judicial conduct, inviting comment no later than Oct. 15.

The newly released draft provisions are Canon 3, requiring judges to conduct their personal affairs to preserve the integrity, impartiality and independence of the judiciary, and Canon 4, requiring them to conduct extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with their judicial obligations. Draft provisions pertaining to gifts, compensation, reimbursement, reporting and disclosure will be distributed later.

The commission will hold a public hearing Aug. 6 during the ABA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, and is receiving written comment throughout its evaluation and revision drafting process.

Commission Chair Mark I. Harrison of Phoenix raised four specific issues in seeking comment, though he also invited comment on any other matter with respect to the code. The issues Harrison raised are:

• Whether it would be useful and appropriate to limit judges who write letters of reference or recommendation to using judicial letterhead only when their statements are based on information obtained through their expertise or experience as a judge;
• How the legal community views the barring of judges from membership in organizations that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity and sexual orientation. A proposed revision adds those to a list of discriminatory policies that would make it improper for a judge to hold membership in an organization or use its facilities to a significant extent;
• Whether it is advisable to identify by example in commentary to judicial ethics rules circumstances under which a judge might properly testify before governmental bodies, whether as a judge or as a private citizen;
• The extent to which judges may participate in civic or charitable activities that are designed to raise funds, such as accepting on behalf of the sponsoring organization the proceeds from the sale of an item at a local library fundraiser, and whether to allow judges to speak, be recognized or be honored at fund-raising events for law-related entities.

The draft revisions are posted on the ABA Web site at http://www.abanet.org/judicialethics/drafts.html. The current model code is posted at http://www.abanet.org/cpr/mcjc/mcjc_home.html. Comments should be directed to commission counsel Eileen Gallagher by Oct. 15 at gallaghE@staff.abanet.orgor at the ABA Justice Center, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610.

ABA President Dennis W. Archer announced last September that the ABA Standing Committee on Judicial Independence and Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility would form the joint commission, noting it had been 12 years since the code had undergone a complete review. The commission is to recommend revisions for consideration by the ABA House of Delegates in August 2005. The work of the commission is funded by a grant from the Joyce Foundation.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.

EDITORS NOTE: Accredited reporters are welcome to attend and cover the hearing. Credential guidelines can be found at http://www.abanews.org/credentials.html. ABA press credentials will be available in the ABA Press Room in the Georgia World Congress Center Registration Hall, 8A-C, Level 4, beginning at noon on Thursday, Aug. 5. Thereafter during the ABA 2004 Annual Meeting, the Press Room will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will close one hour after the adjournment of the House of Delegates on Tuesday, Aug.10. The on-site Press Room phone number will be 404/222-5438.