Rule 4.6 6: Political Activities of Nonjudicial Court Employees

This rule covers court employees who work for judges but are not judges themselves, like clerks, assistants, or other court staff. It sets limits on what these employees can do when it comes to politics.

If a judge got their job through a retention election (where voters simply decide yes or no on keeping the judge in office), that judge must hold their staff to the same political rules that apply to the judge. In other words, the employees can't do things politically that the judge themselves is barred from doing.

If a judge got their job through a regular election, whether it involved political parties or not, that judge cannot let their staff run for partisan political offices unrelated to the court. The judge also cannot let staff hold leadership positions in a political party's committee. This keeps court employees from mixing court work with party politics, which helps keep the courts looking fair and independent.