Rule 4.5 Activities of Judges Who Become Candidates for Nonjudicial Office

(A) Upon becoming a candidate for election to a nonjudicial office either in a primary or in a general election or upon election or appointment to fill a vacancy in an elective nonjudicial office, a judge shall resign from judicial office.

(B) Upon becoming a candidate for appointment to a nonjudicial office, a judge is not required to resign from judicial office, provided that the judge complies with the other provisions of this Code.

COMMENT

[1] In campaigns for election to nonjudicial public offices, candidates may make pledges, promises, or commitments related to positions they would take and ways they would act if elected to office. Although appropriate in nonjudicial campaigns, this manner of campaigning is inconsistent with the role of a judge, who must remain fair and impartial to all who come before him or her. The potential for misuse of the judicial office, and the political promises that the judge would be compelled to make in the course of campaigning for election to nonjudicial office, together dictate that a judge who wishes to run for such an office must resign upon becoming a candidate.

[2] The “resign to run” rule set forth in paragraph (A) ensures that a judge cannot use the judicial office to promote his or her candidacy, and prevents postcampaign retaliation from the judge in the event the judge is defeated in the election. When a judge is seeking appointment to nonjudicial office, however, the dangers are not sufficient to warrant imposing the “resign to run” rule.

[3] A judge cannot hold judicial office while holding an elective nonjudicial office, whether the nonjudicial office is held by election or by appointment.