Marcus Alan McGhee, Staff Attorney | Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications Judges and judicial candidates must, to the greatest extent possible, be free and appear to be free from political influence and partisan interests. See Ind. Code of Jud. Cond., Canon 4, General Consideration. This can be an arduous task as judicial candidates merge into […]
Ethics
From Courtroom to Boardroom
Exploring the limitations of a judge sitting on an organization’s board of directors By Marcus Alan McGhee, Staff Attorney | Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications Judges serving as members of a for-profit organization’s leadership has been problematic since Kenesaw Mountain Landis-the U.S. District Court Judge who was also Major League Baseball’s first Commissioner. The concern, then […]
In the Right Direction
Lawyers ask for ethics guidance G. Michael Witte, Executive Director | Disciplinary Commission In April 2018, the Disciplinary Commission began providing Indiana lawyers informal ethics guidance and formal advisory opinions. Informal guidance allows a lawyer to confidentially submit an ethical conduct question. The process is known as a pointer system: the Commission points the lawyer […]
Avoiding the Ex Parte Trap
By Adrienne Meiring, Counsel | Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications Juror communications can present interesting challenges for trial court judges. As court outsiders, jurors understandably have questions and concerns that arise during trial and look to the judge for answers. Judges bear tremendous responsibility at these times to preserve a defendant’s constitutional rights and to avoid […]
Following your Friends to a Faulty Connection
By Marcus Alan McGhee | Staff Attorney, Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications A Snapshot of New Social Media Challenges Judiciaries across the nation appear to have received the message from judicial conduct commissions regarding vitriolic posts on social media platforms. Such commentary has been condemned as indecorous and lacking the unbiased impartiality required from the […]
Judicial Selection & Disqualification
By Adrienne Meiring, Counsel, Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications Judges and judicial candidates necessarily must forge professional and social relationships with attorneys, business leaders, and public officials to become judges and to effectively improve the legal system. Questions sometimes emerge whether these contacts create an appearance of partiality when an attorney or party who supported […]
#CanITweet? Guidance to courts on the limits of Broadcast Ban
Described by some as “Haiku journalism,” the 140-character limit of Twitter messages such as the fictional examples below, may seem to provide only short-script descriptions of legal events, but these abbreviated statements are beginning to impact court systems. As reporters and onlookers can give play-by-play-accounts of what is occurring in the courtroom and even include […]
Yes Virginia, Judges can be Santa Claus
Dear Ms. Meiring, With the holiday season approaching, Charity Y would like to know whether it is ethically permissible for our local judge to dress up like Santa Claus and pass out donated presents to the less fortunate kids in the community at our annual holiday party. Sincerely, Virginia, Director of Charity Y Ah, the […]
Time to Ask for Help
When a tea kettle whistles from mounting pressure, we all know to take the kettle off the burner or to turn down the heat. Yet, when a legal colleague shows obvious wear from stress and has difficulty performing job duties or repeatedly lashes out, we often pretend not to notice the “whistle of the tea […]
Speak when you are angry & you will make the best speech you’ll ever regret
The Ethics of Judicial Campaigns: Part 2 One of the hottest topics these days in judicial elections is campaign speech. As judicial elections become more heated, so too does the campaign rhetoric. It is important to remember, however, that judicial elections are different than other elections. Judicial candidates certainly maintain a first amendment right to […]
On Your Mark, Get Set…Go?
The Ethics of Judicial Campaigns (part 1 of 2) A whirlwind of activity, the pulse of adrenaline, and general excitement (and despair) loom in the air—it’s the change of season. Racing, you say? No, it’s judicial campaign season. With the primary elections approaching, I have received an increasing number of questions about judicial elections and […]
Paid Per Ticket: Not a Wise Judicial Pay Arrangement
So now that I have your attention—no, I’m not talking about bribery or ticket fixing. Rather, the subject of this article is judicial pay arrangements which are based on some factor other than an annual fixed salary, e.g. paid per traffic ticket filed in or disposed of by the court. While the purpose of such […]
Punishing the Profane
Using Criminal Contempt Powers in an Ethical Manner Adefendant spews forth a string of curses during his initial hearing. A cell phone goes off in a busy courtroom, but no one will take responsibility for the disruption. When submitting a check to pay her fine, a litigant writes an expletive (expressing how she feels about […]
To fee or not to fee… That is the ethical question
During economic hard times, the pressure can be immense for government officials, including judges, to find additional revenue sources to run government agencies. Judges often find themselves in the crossfire between addressing a city/county council’s concerns about budget shortfalls and maintaining the regular business of the court. Three alluring “solutions” sometimes proposed to “solve” this […]
Indiana Merit Selection and the “Missouri Plan”
Nationwide, selection of appellate judges typically occurs in one of three ways: contested election, political appointment, or merit selection. The “Missouri Plan,” as merit selection is sometimes referred to, first emerged in 1940 when prominent Missouri citizens1 sought to change the way their judges were selected because of perceived abuses/weaknesses with the other means of […]
