Category: Massachusetts Judicial & Clerks’ Ethics Opinions

Serving on Board of Directors of Nonprofit PublisherSeptember 20, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-11You have asked for an opinion on the question whether your service on the board of directors of a nonprofit corporation whose primary purpose is the publication of a weekly town newspaper would conflict with the Code of Judicial Conduct.The weekly newspaper is […]

Providing Judicial Administration Consulting ServicesSeptember 25, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-12You have inquired whether the Canons of Judicial Conduct prohibit you from accepting an offer from an organization, which is proposing to facilitate a USAID-funded project to review the causes of delay in the Indian judicial system and to suggest ways of improving its functioning. There […]

Accepting Indemnification of Legal Fees and ExpensesOctober 1, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-13You have asked whether you may accept from your former employer (“the institution”) indemnification for any legal fees and expenses you might incur in connection with providing testimony, or preparing to provide testimony, in a matter pending in the trial court. The institution is […]

Serving on Board of Trustees of Savings BankOctober 24, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-14This will refer to your letter of September 10, 2001, in which you requested advice from the Committee regarding your ability to continue serving as a member of the Board of Trustees of a savings bank now that you have been sworn in […]

Attending Reception and Dinner for Retiring MayorNovember 5, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-15You have asked whether you may attend a reception and dinner to honor a mayor who has chosen not to run for reelection when his term expires. In your request, you have stated that the mayor is a close friend and that attendance at […]

Hearing Cases in County Where Son is Assistant District AttorneyNovember 16, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-16You have written to this Committee for advice regarding the propriety of hearing cases in a particular district court within the county to which your son, who has recently become a member of the bar, will be appointed as an assistant […]

Hearing Cases of Attorneys Associated With FatherDecember 18, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-17You have inquired about your ability to sit on cases being handled by two lawyers who were associated with your father in a particular matter at the time of his death. Your father’s estate was not probated because there were no assets that required […]

Creating, Exhibiting, and Selling Fine Art PaintingsDecember 18, 2001CJE Opinion No. 2001-18You have asked whether you may exhibit for sale and sell your fine art paintings. You have indicated that you have been a painter for years and have exhibited your art in the past. At present you wish to display your paintings for sale […]

Participating in Activities of Academy of Matrimonial LawyersJanuary 29, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-1You have requested advice as to the propriety of your participation in certain activities of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.You state in your letter that:”The Academy was founded in 1962 and has more than 1,500 fellows nationwide. At the present time, there […]

Representing Self in Matter Before Another Court January 29, 2002 CJE Opinion No. 2002-2 You have asked whether or not you may represent yourself in a matter pending before the Land Court. You and your brother have inherited from your father, as tenants in common, a permitted, but not yet built subdivision. An action has […]

Retaining Membership in Masons, Assuming Leadership RoleJanuary 30, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-3You seek from the Committee on Judicial Ethics an opinion regarding whether the Code of Judicial Conduct permits your membership in the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Massachusetts (“Masons”) and, if so, whether you may assume a leadership role in the Masonic Lodge […]

Duty to Report Misconduct of Judge and LawyerTHIS OPINION HAS BEEN HEAVILY EDITEDIN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH S.J.C. RULE 3:11 (3)CJE Opinion No. 2002-04February 14, 2002You have asked our advice concerning the applicability of Canon 3(B)(3) to the fact situation detailed in your inquiry. In essence, the facts were these: a colleague, Judge A, told […]

Accepting Payment of Case-Related Travel Expenses from LitigantsFebruary 14, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-05You have requested advice concerning payment of expenses incurred in the performance of your judicial duties. You sit in the Land Court Department of the Trial Court. The Land Court is a court with state-wide jurisdiction which has its base of operation in […]

Receiving Award from Local Bar AssociationApril 2, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-06You have asked whether you may accept an award from a County Bar Association. The award is given annually, is a public service award, and consists solely of a certificate presented at a regularly scheduled luncheon of the Bar Association. You are a judge in […]

Accepting Artwork for Display in CourthouseApril 2, 2002Art in the Courthouse Project:You indicate that a group of local artists and courthouse personnel are involved in a project to obtain works of art to be donated to your court for display therein. The courthouse in which you sit is an unpleasant setting, especially for litigants whose […]

Meeting with Candidates for Register of ProbateCJE Opinion No. 2002-08April 11, 2002You are the First Justice of a Probate and Family Court. The office of Register of Probate is an elective position. There is an election scheduled at which time the voters of the county will choose the Register.You have anticipated that the candidates for […]

Recusal: Prosecutor is a Former Student of JudgeSeptember 16, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-9You are a judge in a District Court division of the Trial Court. You were previously an adjunct professor at a law school. One of your former students is now an assistant district attorney in your county and the District Attorney’s office has […]

Filing Amicus Brief in Pending AppealCJE Opinion No. 2002-10September 30, 2002You have asked two questions concerning the propriety of filing an amicus brief in a case that is currently pending before the Supreme Judicial Court. In your submission you have included a copy of an announcement from the Supreme Judicial Court stating in part, with […]

Retaining Membership in Masons, Assuming Leadership RoleOctober 16, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-11   In response to your request dated November 13, 2001, the committee issued CJE Opinion 2002-3, in which it declined, for the reasons contained in the opinion itself, to render an opinion on the question whether your membership in the Ancient Free and Accepted […]

Law School Event Honoring Alumni in JudiciaryOctober 17, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-12  You have requested an opinion from the Committee on Judicial Ethics regarding the propriety of your attendance at an event that the law school from which you were graduated is planning. (1) In your request, you state that the event is “designed to […]