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sunEthics |
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Unethical for judge to rent a room in judge's home to non-related person on community control. [Added 1/25/10] Judge is assigned to the criminal division that includes defendants on felony probation, but no on community control Judge does preside over first appearances of defendants arrested for alleged violations of community control. Judge asked the Florida Supreme Court's Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee whether it would be ethically permissible to rent a room in Judge's home to a person, not related to Judge, who is on community control. Judge had arranged with the administrative judge to assign a different judge to preside over the prospective renter's first appearance if the renter was to be arrested for a community control violation. The Committee answered in the negative, for reasons that revolved around the possibility that the credibility of Judge personally and of the judicial office could be placed at issue. For example, Judge could become a witness to the renter's conduct, or could have contact with the probation officers supervising the renter. "The judge also would have a financial interest in rent which may compete with the individual’s requirement to pay supervision fees and other monetary conditions." The Committee concluded that the situation inquired about by Judge "would likely violate Canons 2A, 2B, 5A, and 5D(1)(a) of the Code of Judicial Conduct." Canon 2A provides: "A judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." Canon 2B provides in pertinent part: ". . . A judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge . . ." Canon 5A provides in pertinent part: "A judge shall conduct all of the judge's extra-judicial activities so that they do not: (1) cast reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially as a judge; (2) undermine the judge’s independence, integrity, or impartiality; (3) demean the judicial office; . . . or (6) appear to a reasonable person to be coercive." Canon 5D(1)(a) provides: "A judge shall not engage in financial and business dealings that (a) may reasonably be perceived to exploit the judge's judicial position[.]" |
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