Rule 3.12 12: Compensation for Extrajudicial Activities

Judges are allowed to be paid for outside activities, like teaching a class, writing a book, or giving a speech, as long as those activities are otherwise allowed under judicial ethics rules. The pay they receive must be reasonable for the work involved.

The catch is that the payment cannot create doubts about the judge's fairness or honesty. If an ordinary person looking at the situation would think the money might affect how the judge makes decisions in court, or would make the judge seem less independent or trustworthy, then the judge should not accept it.

In short, judges can earn extra income from activities outside their court duties, but the money has to be fair and reasonable, and it cannot come with strings attached that would make people question whether the judge can still be neutral and fair in the courtroom.