What kind of outside employment can a Common Pleas judge engage in?
Samuel C. Stretton.
The answer is really none. Unlike district court judges who have a right to have a part-time law practice or other forms of employment, Court of Common Pleas judges are pretty much limited to their judicial duties. The reason is the job of being a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas is a full-time job. Under Rule 2.1 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge must give precedence to the duties of his judicial office and should be burdened with conflicts on time. This rule indicates the judge’s personal or extra-judicial activities must be arranged so as to not interfere unreasonably with their discharge of the judicial office. Further, judges have to be available to fulfill their judicial duties and not engage in personal conduct that could result in their disqualification.
