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Judicial Ethics opinion issued

The Standing Committee on Judicial Ethics and Election Practices has issued Opinion: JE08-11. The issue presented is: May a judge present a segment in the training of reserve police officers on courtroom demeanor? The answer is "Yes, with significant qualifications." The Committee expresses its reservations about some types of training: "In the view of the Committee, there are facts present in this request which raise issues under each of those Canons. The training is for reserve police officers who may at some point appear before the judge, who typically will be on the prosecution side of a proceeding, and who are part of a different branch of government. Those facts, at a minimum, create appearances concerning judicial independence under Canon 1, concerning impartiality under Canons 2A and 4A(1), and concerning interference with the proper performance of judicial duties under Canon 4A(3)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Harmful Error on September 10, 2008 (boomark / email).