Rule 4.1 Prohibition on Ex Parte Communications

Judges cannot have private, one-sided conversations with one party or their lawyer about a case. Both sides must be present or included whenever anything about the case is discussed with the judge.

This rule exists to keep the process fair. If one side gets to talk to the judge privately, the other side has no chance to respond or correct anything that was said. There are a few limited exceptions allowed by law, but they are rare.