2013-27 (July 18,
2013)
Gifts; Rules 1.2 & 3.13
Issue: May
a Judicial Official who is an adjunct faculty member
at a law school accept a gift from an attorney, who
is also an adjunct, consisting of a book written by
the attorney?
Additional Facts: The author of the
book is a practicing attorney who has never appeared
and is not likely to appear before the inquiring
Judicial Official. Although the book is
relevant to the subject-matter of the course that
the Judicial Official teaches, it is not a course
text and is not being provided for use in the
Judicial Official’s judicial duties. The book
is being provided by the attorney, not the
publisher.
Response: Rule 1.2 requires a
judge to act at all times in a manner that promotes
public confidence in the independence, integrity,
and impartiality of the judiciary and to avoid
impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.
Rule 3.13 concerns the
acceptance and reporting of gifts, loans, bequests
and other things of value. Subsection (a)
states that “A judge may not accept any gifts,
loans, bequests, benefits, or other things of value,
if acceptance is prohibited by law or would appear
to a reasonable person to undermine the judge’s
independence, integrity, or impartiality.”
Subsection (b) sets forth items that may be accepted
without being publicly reported while subsection (c)
sets forth when items that are accepted must be
reported.
Comment
(1) to Rule 3.13 states as follows:
Whenever
a judge accepts a gift or other thing of value
without paying fair market value, there is a risk
that the benefit might be viewed as intended to
influence the judge’s decision in a case. Rule
3.13 imposes restrictions on the acceptance of such
benefits, according to the magnitude of the risk.
Subsection (b) identifies circumstances in which the
risk that the acceptance would appear to undermine
the judge’s independence, integrity, or impartiality
is low and explicitly provides that such items need
not be publicly reported. As the value of the
benefit or the likelihood that the source of the
benefit will appear before the judge increases, the
judge is either prohibited under subsection (a) from
accepting the gift, or required under subsection (c)
to publicly report it.
Based upon the information provided, including that
the donor is not a person who has ever appeared or
is likely to appear before the Judicial Official,
the Committee members in attendance unanimously
determined that the acceptance of the gift was not
prohibited by law and would not appear to a
reasonable person to undermine the Judicial
Official’s independence, integrity, or impartiality.
The Committee members further determined that in
accordance with Rule 3.13(a) the Judicial Official
may accept the book.
