Canon 2 A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities

A Judge Shall Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities

A. A judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

As used in this Code, "impartiality" or "impartial" denotes absence of bias or prejudice in favor of, or against, particular parties or classes of parties, as well as maintaining an open mind in considering issues that may come before the judge. [Amended effective February 1, 2005]

B. A judge shall not allow family, social, political, or other relationships to influence judicial conduct or judgment. A judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interest of the judge or others; nor shall a judge convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge. A judge shall not testify voluntarily as a character witness. Although a judge should be sensitive to possible abuse of the prestige of office, a judge may, based on the judge's personal knowledge, serve as a personal reference or provide a letter of recommendation. The judge may use official letterhead if there is no likelihood that the use of the letterhead would reasonably be perceived as an attempt to exert pressure by reason of the judicial office. [Amended effective June 22, 2026]

C. A judge shall not hold membership in any organization that arbitrarily excludes from membership, on the basis of race, religion, sex or national origin, any persons who would otherwise be admitted to membership. The term "organization" shall not include, however, an association of individuals dedicated to the preservation of religious, ethnic, historical or cultural values of legitimate common interest to its members; or an intimate, distinctly private association of persons whose membership limitations would be entitled to constitutional protection.