The Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics responds to written inquiries from New York state’s approximately 3,600 judges and justices, as well as hundreds of judicial hearing officers, support magistrates, court attorney-referees, and judicial candidates (both judges and non-judges seeking election to judicial office). The committee interprets the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 100) and, to the extent applicable, the Code of Judicial Conduct. The committee consists of 27 current and retired judges, and is co-chaired by the Honorable Margaret Walsh, a justice of the supreme court in Albany County, and the Honorable Lillian Wan, an associate justice of the appellate division, second department.
Digest: A family court judge may enter into a memorandum of understanding with an agency that provides a “safe haven” facility for free supervised visitation and safe exchange of children, where the agreement sets forth a general expectation that (1) the court will continue to make referrals as needed in appropriate cases and (2) the judge and court staff will participate in giving and/or attending appropriate domestic violence training along with a wide variety of other signatories. As the agreement does not purport to mandate specific training programs, the judge must exercise discretion and participate only when doing so will not create an appearance of impropriety or raise reasonable questions about the judge’s impartiality.
