Rule 8.2 Judicial Officers and Candidates

Lawyers cannot lie about judges or people running for judicial office. If a lawyer makes public statements about a judge's honesty, behavior, or qualifications, those statements have to be truthful. A lawyer cannot knowingly spread false information to damage a judge's reputation or unfairly attack a judicial candidate.

This matters because judges depend on public trust to do their jobs well. If lawyers could freely lie about judges, it would undermine confidence in the courts. That said, lawyers are still allowed to honestly criticize judges or raise real concerns about their conduct. The rule only bans false statements made knowingly, not honest opinions or fair criticism.

If a lawyer decides to run for judicial office themselves, they have to follow a separate set of rules that apply specifically to judicial candidates. These rules cover things like how they can campaign, what they can say, and how they can raise money. This helps keep judicial elections fair and keeps lawyers who want to become judges from acting in ways that would look bad for the courts.