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Ga. R. Prof. Conduct 8.2

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Rule 8.2 Judicial and Legal Officials

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Rule Text

(a) Reserved.

(b) A lawyer who is a candidate for judicial office shall comply with the applicable provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

The maximum penalty for a violation of this Rule is disbarment.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

Lawyers who decide to run for a judge position have to follow the same ethics rules that judges must follow. These rules are found in something called the Code of Judicial Conduct. So a lawyer running for judicial office can't say or do things during their campaign that would break those judicial ethics standards, even though they aren't a judge yet.

The first part of this rule, section (a), doesn't currently have any content tied to it. It's marked as "reserved," which means it's left blank for now, possibly for future rules to be added there.

If a lawyer running for judicial office breaks this rule, the punishment can be very serious. The most severe penalty allowed is disbarment, which means the lawyer would lose their license to practice law completely.

Committee Notes

[1] Assessments by lawyers are relied on in evaluating the professional or personal fitness of persons being considered for election or appointment to judicial office and to public legal offices, such as attorney general, prosecuting attorney and public defender. Expressing honest and candid opinions on such matters contributes to improving the administration of justice. Conversely, false statements by a lawyer can unfairly undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

[2] When a lawyer seeks judicial office, the lawyer should be bound by applicable limitations on political activity.

[3] To maintain the fair and independent administration of justice, lawyers are encouraged to continue traditional efforts to defend judges and courts unjustly criticized.

← Previous Rule 8.1: Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters Next → Rule 8.3: Reporting Professional Misconduct