Category: Massachusetts Judicial & Clerks’ Ethics Opinions

Participating as Panelist at Conference: Discussing Case Pending on AppealOctober 23, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-13  In your letter of September 12, 2002, you requested an opinion from the Committee on Judicial Ethics concerning your attendance at, and participation in, a panel discussion during an upcoming educational conference. The educational conference will focus, at least in […]

Attending Conference Where Case Pending on Appeal Will be DiscussedOctober 23, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-14In your letter of September 12, 2002, you requested an opinion from the Committee on Judicial Ethics concerning your attendance at an upcoming educational conference. The educational conference will focus, at least in material part, on issues related to interactions between […]

Serving as Special Adviser to Branch of Government Other Than JudiciaryNovember 26, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-15You have requested an opinion from the Committee on Judicial Ethics regarding your “ethical obligations, if any” with respect to your possible service as special adviser in a branch of State government other than the judiciary. Specifically, you are considering […]

Hosting Call-In Cable Television ShowNovember 26, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-16For approximately two years before your appointment to the bench, you hosted a live, call-in talk show on a local cable television station. The show is sponsored by an organization created by and for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The show is hosted by […]

Participating in Charity Bike Ride May 22, 2000 CJE Opinion No. 2000-4 You have requested advice from this Committee regarding whether you may participate in a charity bike ride that would raise money to fund charitable organizations engaged in AIDS research. In your letter and accompanying material, you informed the Committee that each participant in […]

Serving as Legislative Counsel to MunicipalityDecember 17, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-19The Governor has nominated you for a judgeship in a department of the Trial Court. Currently you serve as, among other things, legislative counsel to a municipality. You have informed the committee that the position of legislative counsel was created by the municipality’s city code. […]

Accepting Free Services from Surveillance CompanyDecember 20, 2002CJE Opinion No. 2002-20You have requested an opinion from the Committee on Judicial Ethics about whether you may accept surveillance services provided at no cost by a video surveillance company that operates in the town where you live. According to your request, these are the circumstances. You live […]

Receiving Award from Chamber of CommerceJanuary 28, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-1   The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce has notified you of its intention to present you with a prestigious award at an upcoming annual awards luncheon. You have asked the Committee on Judicial Ethics whether you may accept that award.According to your written request, the […]

Involvement as Trustee in Parents’ Estate PlanFebruary 26, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-2Because of health concerns of your father, you and your parents, who are both in their eighties, consulted with a certified public accountant. Based on the advice of the accountant, you created a family limited partnership agreement, an irrevocable trust, and a corporate entity. […]

Serving as Executor of Estate of Family FriendMarch 14, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-3You have asked the committee whether you may act as a co-executor of the estate of a lifelong family friend. The facts are as follows. The friend died recently in Canada at the age of ninety-seven. She named you in her will as […]

Recusal: Spouse is Employed by Nonprofit Organization Serving the DisabledMarch 14, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-4You have asked a series of questions regarding the propriety of your hearing cases involving the agency that employs your spouse. Your spouse is currently the associate executive director of a nonprofit corporation that serves the disabled. Her position is the […]

Communication with Executive and Legislative Branches Regarding Proposed Closing of CourthouseApril 1, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-6You are an Associate Justice in a District Court. The Governor has proposed in his budget to the Legislature that your court, as well as certain other District Courts, be closed (or consolidated with other District Courts) as a cost […]

“Appearing” at Fundraiser; Contribution to FundraiserApril 22, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-7You are a judge who has sat in a courthouse where conditions had become so deteriorated that the building became the subject of litigation. A so-called blind trust was created with a retired judge serving as the trustee. Contributors to this trust remained anonymous. Presumably […]

Judge’s Obligations When Child Runs for Political OfficeApril 28, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-8You are a judge whose son wishes to run for public office. Your son attends college in Massachusetts and lives in a dormitory. He is a dependent of yours for tax purposes, receives financial support for education and certain other living expenses, and, […]

Continuing Use of Judge’s Surname in Title of Former FirmMay 8, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-9You have requested the advice of this committee concerning what action you are required to take to have your surname removed from the firm name of your former legal practice. Prior to becoming a judge you were one of the equal […]

Duty to Report Ex Parte Communication from AttorneySeptember 4, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-10You have requested advice from the Committee on Judicial Ethics regarding your ethical obligations in the wake of a telephone call that you received from an attorney on July 16, 2003. You stated in your letter that you became acquainted with this attorney […]

Serving on Private School Investment Committees Following Adoption of New CodeSeptember 10, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-11You have requested an advisory opinion concerning your service as a trustee for two affiliated nonprofit private schools. On one school’s board of trustees, you serve as secretary of the board, as a member of its executive committee, and as […]

Serving on Boston Bar Association CouncilSeptember 19, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-12In CJE Opinion 2003-5, the Committee on Judicial Ethics opined that membership on the Council of the Boston Bar Association (association) would not be consistent with the requirements of Canons 2 and 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct as it is presently written (current […]

Serving on Subcommittees of Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice InnovationSeptember 25, 2003CJE Opinion No. 2003-13Three judges, independently of each other, have sought advice from the Committee on Judicial Ethics as to whether they may accept invitations to serve on subcommittees of the Governor’s Commission on Criminal Justice Innovation. According to publicly available information, the Governor’s […]

Serving on Advisory Committee for Department of Public Health Planning Grant September 29, 2003 CJE Opinion No. 2003-14 You have inquired of the Committee on Judicial Ethics whether, as a judge, you may, in conformity with the Code of Judicial Conduct, serve either as the chair or as a member of an advisory committee that […]