Home › Mississippi › Rules of Professional Conduct › Rule 8.2

Court Rules Network • courtrules.net

Miss. R. Prof'l Conduct 8.2

Not legal advice. Verify against official sources before relying on this text in any legal matter.

Rule 8.2 Judicial and Legal Officials

← Previous Rule 8.1: Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters Next → Rule 8.3: Reporting Professional Misconduct

Rule Text

(a) A lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge, adjudicating officer or public legal officer, or of a candidate for election or appointment to judicial or legal office.

(b) A lawyer who is a candidate for judicial office shall comply with the applicable provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)

This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.

Lawyers have to be careful about what they say publicly about judges and other legal officials. They cannot make false statements about a judge's honesty or qualifications if they know the statement is false, or if they don't bother to check whether it's true before saying it. This applies to sitting judges, other public legal officers, and people running for judicial or legal office.

The idea behind this rule is that lawyers have special knowledge about the legal system, so their public criticism of judges carries more weight than an average person's opinion. Because of this, lawyers are held to a higher standard when they speak out. They can still raise honest concerns or criticize judicial decisions, but they cannot spread lies or reckless accusations about a judge's character or fitness for office.

If a lawyer decides to run for judicial office themselves, they also have to follow the Code of Judicial Conduct's rules about campaign conduct. This means their campaign statements and behavior are held to the same standards expected of judges, not just the standards that normally apply to lawyers.

Committee Notes

Comment

Assessments by lawyers are relied on in evaluating the professional or personal fitness of persons being considered for election or appointment to judicial office and to public legal offices, such as attorney general, prosecuting attorney and public defender. Expressing honest and candid opinions on such matters contributes to improving the administration of justice. Conversely, false statements by a lawyer can unfairly undermine public confidence in the administration of justice.

When a lawyer seeks judicial office, the lawyer should be bound by applicable limitations on political activity.

To maintain the fair and independent administration of justice, lawyers are encouraged to continue traditional efforts to defend judges and courts unjustly criticized.

Code Comparison

With regard to Rule 8.2(a), DR 8-102(A) provides that "A lawyer shall not knowingly make false statements of fact concerning the qualifications of a candidate for election or appointment to a judicial office." DR 8-102(B) provides that "A lawyer shall not knowingly make false accusations against a judge or other adjudicatory officer."

There is no counterpart to Rule 8.2(b) in the Code.

See MSB Ethics Opinion No. 36.

← Previous Rule 8.1: Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters Next → Rule 8.3: Reporting Professional Misconduct