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Okla. Code Jud. Conduct Application

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Application Application

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Rule Text

The Application section establishes when the various rules apply to a judge or judicial candidate.

(I) Applicability of this Code

(A) The provisions of the Code apply to all full-time judges. Parts II through V of this section identify provisions that apply to the four categories of part-time judges only while they are serving as judges, and provisions that do not apply to part-time judges at any time. Rules that do not appear in Section II through V are therefore applicable to part-time judges at all times. Canon 4 applies to judicial candidates.

(B) A judge, within the meaning of this Code, is anyone who is authorized to perform judicial functions, including an officer such as a magistrate, court commissioner, special master, referee, or member of the administrative law judiciary.

Amendment history: Approved by order of the Supreme Court, 2010 OK 90 , effective April 15, 2011.

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

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

This section explains who has to follow the Code of Judicial Conduct and when. If you are a full-time judge, every rule in the code applies to you at all times. This includes not just judges with the word "judge" in their title, but also magistrates, court commissioners, special masters, referees, and administrative law judges, since they all perform judicial duties.

If you are a part-time judge, the rules work a little differently. Some rules only apply while you are actually acting as a judge. Other rules apply to you all the time, whether you are on the bench or not. The code sorts part-time judges into four categories and spells out which rules fall into each group.

Anyone running to become a judge also has responsibilities under this code, though a narrower set. Judicial candidates must follow Canon 4, which covers how they can campaign and raise support for their candidacy. The goal of all these rules is to make sure anyone doing judge-like work, whether full-time, part-time, or still campaigning for the job, acts fairly and keeps public trust in the courts.

Committee Notes

[1] The Rules in this Code have been formulated to address the ethical obligations of any person who serves a judicial function, and are premised upon the supposition that a uniform system of ethical principles should apply to all those authorized to perform judicial functions.

[2] The determination of which category and, accordingly, which specific Rules apply to an individual judicial officer, depends upon the facts of the particular judicial service.

[3] In recent years specialized courts have been created in which judges are authorized by court rules to act in nontraditional ways. For example, judges presiding in drug courts and mental health courts who are monitoring the progress of participants in those courts' programs may be authorized and even encouraged to communicate directly with social workers, probation officers, and others outside the context of their usual judicial role as independent decision makers on issues of fact and law. When local rules specifically authorize conduct not otherwise permitted under these Rules, they take precedence over the provisions set forth in the Code. Nevertheless, judges serving on these specialized courts shall comply with this Code except to the extent local rules provide and permit otherwise.

[4] The inclusion of the last phrase in the Application section is to make it clear that the Code not only applies to judges, but it also applies to those who are candidates for judicial office. Candidates, whether sitting judges or not, are subject to discipline under this Code.

(II) RETIRED JUDGE ON ACTIVE STATUS

A retired judge on active status, who by law is not permitted to practice law, is not required to comply:

(A) with Rule 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), except while serving as a judge; or (B) at any time with Rule 3.8(A) (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions).

COMMENT

[1] For the purposes of this section, as long as a retired judge is on active status the judge is considered to "perform judicial functions."

(III) CONTINUING PART-TIME JUDGE

A judge who serves repeatedly on a part-time basis by election or under a continuing appointment,

(A) is not required to comply:

(1) 4.1 (Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General (A)(1) through (7), except while serving as a judge; or

(2) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.8(A) (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), 3.11(B) (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities), 3.14 (Reimbursement of Expenses and Waivers of Fees or Charges), and 3.15 (Reporting Requirements), and.

(B) shall not practice law in the court on which the judge serves or in any court subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the court on which the judge serves, and shall not act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which the judge has served as a judge or in any other proceeding related thereto.

COMMENT

[1] When a person who has been a continuing part-time judge is no longer a continuing part-time judge, including a retired judge not on active service, that person may act as a lawyer in a proceeding in which he or she has served as a judge or in any other proceeding related thereto only with the informed consent of all parties, and pursuant to any applicable Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct including Rule 1.12.

(IV) PERIODIC PART-TIME JUDGE

A periodic part-time judge who serves or expects to serve repeatedly on a part-time basis, but under a separate appointment for each limited period of service or for each matter,

(A) is not required to comply:

(1) with Rule 4.1 (Political and Campaign Activities of Judges and Judicial Candidates in General) (A)(1) through (7), except while serving as a judge; or

(2) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.7 (Participation in Educational, Religious, Charitable, Fraternal, or Civic Organizations and Activities), 3.8 (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), 3.11 (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities), 3.13 (Acceptance and Reporting of Gifts, Loans, Bequests, Benefits, or Other Things of Value), 3.15 (Reporting Requirements), and 4.5 (Activities of Judges Who Become Candidates for Nonjudicial Office); and

(V) PRO TEMPORE PART-TIME JUDGE

A pro tempore part-time judge who serves or expects to serve once or only sporadically on a part-time basis under a separate appointment for each period of service or for each case heard is not required to comply:

(A) except while serving as a judge, with Rules 2.4 (External Influences on Judicial Conduct), or 3.2 (Appearances before Governmental Bodies and Consultation with Government Officials) 4.1 (Political and Campaign Activities of Judge and Judicial Candidates in General (A)(1) through (7); or

(B) at any time with Rules 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions), 3.6 (Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations), 3.7 (Participation in Educational, Religious, Charitable, Fraternal, or Civic Organizations and Activities), 3.8(A) (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions), 3.9 (Service as Arbitrator or Mediator), 3.10 (Practice of Law), 3.11(B) (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities), 3.13 (Acceptance and Reporting of Gifts, Loans, Bequests, Benefits, or Other Things of Value), 3.15 (Reporting Requirements), and 4.5 (Activities of Judges Who Become Candidates for Nonjudicial Office).

(VI) TIME FOR COMPLIANCE

A person to whom this Code becomes applicable shall comply immediately with its provisions, except that those judges to whom Rules 3.8 (Appointments to Fiduciary Positions) and 3.11 (Financial, Business, or Remunerative Activities) apply shall comply with those Rules as soon as reasonably possible, but in no event later than one year after the Code becomes applicable to the judge.

COMMENT [1] If serving as a fiduciary when selected as judge, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.8, continue to serve as fiduciary, but only for that period of time necessary to avoid serious adverse consequences to the beneficiaries of the fiduciary relationship and in no event longer than one year. Similarly, if engaged at the time of judicial selection in a business activity, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.11, continue in that activity for a reasonable period but in no event longer than one year. Similarly, if engaged at the time of judicial selection in a business activity, a new judge may, notwithstanding the prohibitions in Rule 3.11, continue in that activity for a reasonable period but in no event longer than one year.