Rule 6.2 Consideration Given in Judicial Conduct Proceedings

When a judge is accused of breaking the judicial conduct rules, the court or the disciplinary commission looks at the whole picture before deciding what to do. This rule says that if a judge asked for guidance ahead of time and tried to follow it, that effort counts in the judge's favor.

There are two kinds of guidance a judge might rely on. One is a formal written opinion from the group that handles these questions. The other is informal advice given to a judge who specifically asked for help understanding the rules. If a judge tried to follow either type of guidance, that effort can be used as proof the judge was acting in good faith, not trying to break the rules.

This matters if the judge later gets accused of a violation anyway. Even if the court finds the judge did something wrong, the judge's honest attempt to follow the guidance can lead to a lighter punishment. In short, trying to do the right thing and asking for help ahead of time can soften the consequences if things still go wrong.