Anti-Discrimination Rule Faces Additional Challenges
After a pivotal Supreme Court holding, states’ adoption of ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(g) faces an uphill battle. Rule
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Federal Courts say #MeToo
On September 13, 2018, the 26-member Judicial Conference proposed amendments for public comment from the recommendations contained in the June 2018 Report of the Federal Judiciary Workplace Conduct Working Group.
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Ohio Supreme Court Proposes Amendment to Code of Judicial Conduct That Would Require Resignation Before Announcing Candidacy to a Nonjudicial Office
The Ohio Supreme Court has proposed an amendment to the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct that would require Ohio judges to resign from judicial office before announcing or taking any action in furtherance of candidacy for any non-judicial office. The Proposal adds the term “Candidate” and defines it as
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Keeping It All in the Family—When Should State Supreme Court Justices Recuse Themselves?
An Ohio Supreme Court Justice has become the subject of an ethics complaint that alleges the Justice decided cases in which his father was a named party, allowed his father to use the Justice’s image to promote his father’s gubernatorial campaign, and abused his clout to help his son obtain a paid internship at an Ohio county prosecutor’s office. Family
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U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice and Ninth Circuit to Study Workplace Code of Conduct
Allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace have recently been in the forefront of the country’s major news stories, and the judicial branch is no exception. In fact, in his end of the year report on the judiciary U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts noted
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The ABA Draws a Brightline for Judges Conducting Independent Factual Research
The American Bar Association’s latest formal opinion prohibits judges from conducting independent research on adjudicative facts unless the information is subject to judicial notice. However, judges are permitted to use the Internet to search for general contextual information and to research legislative facts. Brightline
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Update on the Ethical Implications of Ex-Judge Posner’s New Book
After causing an uproar from his former colleagues with his new book, Reforming the Federal Judiciary: My Former Court Needs to Overhaul Its Staff Attorney Program and Begin Televising Its Oral Arguments, recently-retired Judge Posner has moved forward with his crusade with the announcement that he will be representing pro se litigants. Ethical
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The Ethical Implications of Judge Posner’s New Controversial Book
A book published by recently-retired Judge Posner that includes copies of bench memoranda, draft opinions, and internal emails has caused some of his former colleagues to cry foul, raising ethical questions along the way.
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Facebook “Friends” Aren’t Necessarily Real Friends
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal has decided that a Facebook friendship doesn’t necessarily signify a close relationship warranting automatic disqualification of a judge.
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Breaking News: Florida’s 3rd DCA Decides Facebook Friendship No Cause for Recusal
Today, Florida's 3rd DCA upheld a trial court judge's refusal to recuse herself based upon a Facebook friendship with an attorney on one side of a civil case in her courtroom.
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