Rule 3.5 Use of Nonpublic Information

Judges often learn things during their work that are not available to the public. This can include facts from sealed records, private court discussions, or other confidential material they only know about because of their job. This rule says a judge cannot share or use that kind of information for personal reasons or any purpose outside their official duties.

The point of this rule is to stop judges from taking advantage of what they learn on the bench. For example, a judge cannot use inside knowledge from a case to help a friend, make money, or gain some other personal benefit. Information a judge gets through their position is meant to stay tied to their judicial work, not to be used as a personal tool or advantage.