Application
Rule Text
I. Applicability of This Code
(A) A judge, within the meaning of this Code, is anyone who is authorized to perform judicial functions within the courts of the Indiana judiciary, including an officer such as a magistrate, commissioner, or referee. Administrative law judges and hearing officers of State agencies are not judges within the meaning of this Code.
(B) All the provisions of the Code apply to full-time judges. Parts II through V of this section identify those provisions that apply to the distinct categories of part-time judges. The categories of judicial service in other than a full-time capacity are necessarily defined in general terms because of the widely varying forms of judicial service. Canon 4 applies to judicial candidates.
Amendment history: Effective January 1, 2011
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
This rule explains who counts as a "judge" under Indiana's ethics rules for the courts. Anyone who officially performs judicial duties in Indiana's court system counts as a judge under this code. This includes magistrates, commissioners, and referees, not just regular judges. However, administrative law judges and hearing officers who work for state agencies do not count as judges under this code.
If you are a full-time judge, every rule in this code applies to you. If you serve as a judge only part-time, different rules may apply depending on what kind of part-time role you have. The code explains these different categories later on, since part-time judicial work can look very different from one situation to another. Finally, anyone running to become a judge (a judicial candidate) must follow the rules laid out in Canon 4, even before they take office.
Committee Notes
Comment
[1] The Rules in this Code have been formulated to address the ethical obligations of any person who serves a judicial function, and are premised upon the supposition that a uniform system of ethical principles should apply to all those authorized to perform judicial functions.
[2] The determination of which category and, accordingly, which specific Rules apply to an individual judicial officer, depends upon the facts of the particular judicial service.
[3] In recent years many jurisdictions have created what are often called “problem solving” courts, in which judges are authorized by court rules to act in nontraditional ways. For example, judges presiding in drug courts and monitoring the progress of participants in those courts' programs may be authorized and even encouraged to communicate directly with social workers, probation officers, and others outside the context of their usual judicial role as independent decision makers on issues of fact and law. When local rules specifically authorize conduct not otherwise permitted under these Rules, they take precedence over the provisions set forth in the Code. Nevertheless, judges serving on “problem solving” courts shall comply with this Code except to the extent local rules provide and permit otherwise.
II. Senior Judge
A senior judge is considered to be a periodic part-time judge subject to Part IV of this Application Section.
III. Continuing Part-Time Judge
A judge who serves on a part-time basis by election or under a continuing appointment (a “continuing part-time judge”)
(A) is not required to comply:
(1) with Rules 2.10(A) and 2.10(B) (Judicial Statements on Pending and Impending Cases), except while serving as a judge; or
(2) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.8 (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), 3.11 (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities), 3.14 (Reimbursement of Expenses and Waivers of Fees or Charges), and 3.15 (Financial Reporting Requirements); and
(B) shall not practice law in the court on which the judge serves or in any court subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the court on which the judge serves, and, except as permitted by the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, shall not act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which the judge has served as a judge or in any other proceeding related thereto.
IV. Periodic Part-Time Judge
A judge, including a senior judge, who serves or expects to serve repeatedly on a part-time basis but under a separate appointment for each limited period of service or for each matter (a “periodic part-time judge”)
(A) is not required to comply:
(1) with Rule 2.10 (Judicial Statements on Pending and Impending Cases), except while serving as a judge; or
(2) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.7 (Participation in Educational, Religious, Charitable, Fraternal, or Civic Organizations and Activities), 3.8 (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), 3.11 (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities), 3. 13 (Acceptance and Reporting of Gifts, Loans, Bequests, Benefits, or Other Things of Value), 3.15 (Financial Reporting Requirements), 4.1 (Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General), and 4. 5 (Activities of Judges Who Become Candidates for Nonjudicial Office); and
(B) shall not represent any client in any court on which the judge serves or in any court subject to the appellate jurisdiction of a court on which the judge serves, and, except as permitted by the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, shall not act as a lawyer or ADR neutral in a proceeding in which the judge has served as a judicial officer or in any other proceeding related thereto.
V. Pro Tempore Part-Time Judge
A judge who serves or expects to serve once or only sporadically on a part-time basis under a separate appointment for each period of service or for each case heard (a “pro tempore part-time judge”) is not required to comply:
(A) except while serving as a judge, with Rules 1.2 (Promoting Confidence in the Judiciary), 2.4 (External Influences on Judicial Conduct), 2.10 (Judicial Statements on Pending and Impending Cases), or 3.2 (Appearances before Governmental Bodies and Consultation with Government Officials); or
(B) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.6 (Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations), 3.7 (Participation in Educational, Religious, Charitable, Fraternal, or Civic Organizations and Activities), 3.8 (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), 3.11 (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities), 3.13 (Acceptance and Reporting of Gifts, Loans, Bequests, Benefits, or Other Things of Value), 3.15 (Financial Reporting Requirements), 4.1 (Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General), and 4.5 (Activities of Judges Who Become Candidates for Nonjudicial Office), and
(C) shall not act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which the judge has served as a judge or in any proceeding related thereto except as permitted by the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct.
VI. Time For Compliance
A person to whom this Code becomes applicable shall comply immediately with its provisions, except that those judges to whom Rules 3.8 (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions) and 3.11 (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities) apply shall comply with those Rules as soon as reasonably possible, but in no event later than one year after the Code becomes applicable to the judge.
Comment
[1] If serving as a fiduciary when selected as judge, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.8, continue to serve as fiduciary, but only for that period of time necessary to avoid serious adverse consequences to the beneficiaries of the fiduciary relationship and in no event longer than one year. Similarly, if engaged at the time of judicial selection in a business activity, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.11, continue in that activity for a reasonable period but in no event longer than one year.