2012-17 (Emergency Staff Opinion issued June 19, 2012)
Gifts; Ordinary Social Hospitality;
Rule 3.13
 
Issue: May a Judicial Official who officiates at a wedding attend a dinner following the wedding ceremony as a guest of the wedding party?

Additional Facts: The Judicial Official will not be compensated for his or her services. The wedding is limited to a few people and they will go out to dinner following the ceremony. The estimated cost of the dinner is less than $50 per person. Neither the bride nor the groom is a lawyer, litigant or person likely to appear before the Judicial Official, nor are they relatives of the Judicial Official within the meaning of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Response: The inquiry was circulated to the Committee members and input solicited. On the facts presented, it was determined that consistent with this Committee’s opinion in JE 2010-18 a Judicial Official who officiates at a wedding may, as part of “ordinary social hospitality” within the meaning of Rule 3.13(b)(3), attend the wedding reception as a guest of the bride and groom. Furthermore, as noted in that Rule, the Judicial Official need not report the receipt of ordinary social hospitality.