2014-06 (Emergency Staff
Opinion issued May 29, 2014)
Gifts; Rules 1.2,
1.3 & 3.13
Issue: May a
Judicial Official accept a gift from a bank to thank
the Judicial Official for being a new banking
customer?
Additional Facts: A
Judicial Official recently transferred his/her IRA
(valued at $100,000) from one Connecticut bank to
another local bank in Connecticut. After the
transaction was completed, the Judicial Official’s
financial advisor, an employee of the new
bank, called the Judicial Official to offer, without
charge, the Judicial Official (and Judicial’
Official’s spouse), two box seat tickets to see
“Cirque de Soleil”. According to the show’s website,
tickets to the show ordinarily range in cost from
approximately $44.00-$114.00. Although the financial
advisor was involved in the transaction, the
decision to move the IRA to the new bank originated
from the Judicial Official. Both the financial
advisor and the bank are aware of the Judicial
Official’s position. The stated reason for the gift
was to thank the Judicial Official for being a new
customer of the bank. The Judicial Official believes
that not all customers of the local bank are given
this offer.
Response: Rule 1.2
states that a judge “should act at all times in a
manner that promotes public confidence in the …
impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid
impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.
The test for appearance of impropriety is whether
the conduct would create in reasonable minds a
perception that the judge violated this Code or
engaged in other conduct that reflects adversely on
the judge’s honesty, impartiality, temperament, or
fitness to serve as a judge.”
Rule 1.3 states “A judge shall not
use or attempt to use the prestige of judicial
office to advance the personal or economic interests
of the judge or others or allow others to do so.”
Rule 3.13 of the Code states:
(a) A judge shall 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.
(b) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, or by
subsection (a), a judge may accept the following
without publicly reporting such acceptance;… (4)
commercial or financial opportunities and benefits,
including special pricing and discounts, and loans
from lending institutions in their regular course of
business, if the same opportunities and benefits or
loans are made available on the same terms to
similarly situated persons who are not judges;…
In
JE 2008-04, this Committee considered whether a
JO may attend a sold-out baseball game with an
attorney friend using tickets obtained by the
attorney’s law firm. Based upon the facts presented,
including that the attorney friend does not appear
before the JO, that other members of the firm will
not be present at the game, and that there are not
frequent transactions between the firm and the JO,
this Committee agreed that the JO could attend the
game if the JO purchased the ticket at the higher of
the face-value or what the firm paid for the ticket.
After consulting with several
members of the Committee, staff counsel advised the
Judicial Official, based on the facts presented and
this Committee’s prior opinion in JE 2008-04, that
the Judicial Official may accept the tickets and
attend the show, subject to the following
conditions:
1)The Judicial Official should confirm that the free
tickets are being offered to all new customers under
the same terms applicable to the Judicial Official;
2) If the value of the gift exceeds $250, the Judicial
Official must publicly report it pursuant to Rule
3.15; and
3) In the event the bank appears before the Judicial
Official, the Judicial Official should recuse
himself/herself.
If condition (1) cannot be
confirmed, the Judicial Official may still accept
the tickets and attend the show by paying face
value.
Committee on Judicial Ethics
