Commonwealth Rules Governing Judicial Retention Election Conduct – 2026
Nine sections on how a justice or judge may campaign to keep the bench, cited by their own terms as 'Com. R. Ret. Elec.' Section 1 states the basic guideline as honesty: no justice or judge should knowingly misrepresent a fact, and each is personally responsible for the truth and propriety of retention election literature. The rest cover credentials, the retention election process, public appearances, financial aspects, actions by others, compliance with election laws, and partisan political activity. Read Section 2 with the Supreme Court's own 2002 order, printed with these rules, which holds that after Republican Party of Minnesota v. White the clause forbidding a candidate from stating views on disputed legal or political issues may not be enforced — while the remainder of Section 2 stays in full force, and recusal may still be required.
Browse all 9 rules of the 2026 edition below. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules. Use the search box to find rules by keyword or number.