Rule 3.1 Giving Precedence to the Duties of Judicial Office

Judges have a lot of responsibilities. This rule says that a judge's work on the bench must always come first, ahead of any other professional activities they might be involved in.

This means if a judge teaches a class, sits on a board, gives speeches, or does other outside work, none of that can get in the way of doing their job as a judge. If there's ever a conflict between court duties and something else the judge is involved in, the court duties win.

The point of this rule is to make sure judges stay focused on their main job, which is handling cases fairly and on time. People who go to court need to know that the judge is giving their case the attention it deserves, not putting it on the back burner for other projects or commitments.