Category: Massachusetts Judicial & Clerks’ Ethics Opinions

Donations For Decorating CourtMarch 4, 1989CJE Opinion No. 89-1You have written to us regarding your consideration of a proposed program to adorn the walls in the public area of your District Court with replicas of flags of the United States used early in our country’s history.  The program envisions that the flags would be donated […]

Separation of Judiciary From Fund-Raising EventsMarch 9, 1989CJE Opinion No. 89-3You have requested the advice of this committee concerning the application of the Code of Judicial Conduct (SJC Rule 3:09) to a fund-raising event proposed for the benefit of a Massachusetts college of which you are a graduate. The event is being advertised to potential […]

Appointment to Government CommitteeJuly 5, 1989CJE Opinion No. 89-4You have requested the advice of this committee concerning the application of the Code of Judicial Conduct to your service on the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Prevention of Substance Abuse. The Council, you indicate, is the result of a merger of the Advisory Council on Alcoholism, […]

Rental of Condominium, Not Available to Public, to JudgesOctober 16, 1989CJE Opinion No. 89-5You have requested, on behalf of Justice X and yourself, our opinion about the following situation. Your wife owns a studio condominium in Boston. Between 1983 and 1986, when the Chief Justice advised you that an appearance of impropriety might be involved, […]

Appointment of Certain Attorney as Counsel November 6, 1989 CJE Opinion No. 89-6 You have requested the advice of this committee on the applicability of the Code of Judicial Conduct to your ability to appoint a particular lawyer as counsel in juvenile matters when her husband is a full-time member of the faculty of a […]

Appointment of Certain Attorney as Guardian Ad LitemNovember 14, 1989CJE Opinion No. 89-7You have requested the advice of this committee with respect to the applicability of the Code of Judicial Ethics to your ability to appoint a particular lawyer as guardian ad litem in very tough and sophisticated custody and visitation cases when the lawyer’s […]

Recusal: Impartiality re Party and CounselDecember 20, 1989CJE Opinion No. 89-8Your letter indicates that, since 1986, you have heard a series of civil cases involving the same plaintiff. In two such cases, after trial you found for the defendants and the plaintiff has appealed. Several other such cases have been settled on terms favorable to […]

Use of Biographical Material of Judge in Former Firm’s BrochureFebruary 27, 1990CJE Opinion No. 90-1You have requested the advice of this committee concerning a letter from your former law firm notifying you that the firm proposes to include biographical information about you in a brochure that the firm is preparing for distribution to the firm’s […]

Appointment As Director of Organization Involved in LitigationAugust 23, 1990CJE Opinion No. 90-2You have requested the advice of this committee on whether you may serve on the board of directors of “a statewide organization of which the primary goal is to insure that the needs of all participants in the substitute care system are met […]

Acceptance of Complimentary BooksAugust 23, 1990CJE Opinion No. 90-3You have requested an opinion concerning a letter from an attorney received recently by the various justices of the Probate and Family Court Department of the Trial Court. The attorney and his co-author propose to give each Probate justice a complimentary copy of their new, four-volume set […]

Appointment As Director of Non-Profit CorporationOctober 9, 1990CJE Opinion No. 90-4You have requested an opinion of this committee on the applicability of the provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct to your acceptance of an invitation to serve on the board of directors of a private non-profit corporation which provides residential and day treatment for […]

Beneficial Interest in Office Building Leased to Party Appearing in CourtDecember 30, 1991CJE Opinion No. 91-1You have requested the advice of this Committee on the applicability of the Code of Judicial Conduct with respect to your hearing and deciding of cases wherein the State Lottery Commission is a party. This request arises as a result […]

Appointment As Director of Organization Involved in LitigationDecember 30, 1991CJE Opinion No. 91-2You have requested the advice of this Committee on whether you, a Probate and Family Court judge, may serve on an advisory committee being established by the Coalition for Battered Women Service Groups. In your request you describe the coalition as a statewide […]

Appointment to Advisory Committee to HospitalDecember 30, 1991CJE Opinion No. 91-3You have requested the advice of this Committee on whether you may serve on the Community Advisory Committee of a non-profit hospital. This Committee is “a group of individuals from various communities within the Hospital’s primary service area whose role is to assist and advise […]

Hearing De Novo Retrials of Cases Tried by Judge’s Father,an ADA, and Trials Involving The District Attorney’s StaffMarch 5, 1992CJE Opinion No. 92-1You have written to this Committee for advice regarding the propriety of hearing cases in two particular District Courts by reason of the fact that your father is the senior attorney in the […]

Purchase of Tickets for and Attendance at Charitable Fund-Raiser Honoring a State SenatorApril 2, 1992CJE Opinion No. 92-2You have asked whether you, as a judge, may properly purchase tickets for and attend a charitable fund-raising dinner in honor of a particular State senator, who will be “roasted” at the dinner. The promotional material for the […]

Obligation to Report Matter to Board of Bar OverseersApril 10, 1992CJE Opinion No. 92-3You have requested advice from us with respect to your obligation to report a matter to the Board of Bar Overseers or to take other action. In 1980 Attorney A was appointed executor of an estate on a petition for probate allegedly […]

Being Named Man of Year, with Dinner and Program BookDecember 31, 1992CJE Opinion No. 92-4You have requested the advice of this Committee about the propriety of permitting yourself to be named as man of the year by your synagogue when that honor entails a dinner with a program book dedicated to you. The proceeds from […]

Participation in a Publishing BusinessMarch 3, 1993CJE Opinion No. 93-1 You have requested the advice of this Committee about two questions: 1) the propriety of your participation in the family-owned publishing company as a writer, editor, or consultant on the law-related monthly bulletins published by the family companies; and 2) the permissibility of payment by the […]

Invitation to Write a Forward to a Book December 27, 1993 CJE Opinion No. 93-2 You, a judge of the Probate and Family Court, have requested advice from this Committee regarding the propriety of writing a forward, without pay, to a book on the subject of divorce. The author is someone you have never met […]