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: Provided the judge concludes he/she can be fair and impartial, the judge need not disqualify from a case merely because (a) the complainant is a long-time professional acquaintance of the judge and (b) the defendant has attempted to contact the judge ex parte, accused the judge of corruption and bigotry, threatened the judge’s career, and implicitly threatened the judge’s family. However, the judge should disclose on the record the substance of any threats of violence by the defendant that were received ex parte.
