Ethics Advisory Committee

The Ethics Advisory Committee does not respond to inquiries or complaints from any person who is not an official of the judicial branch as defined in article 4 of the Washington Constitution.

Complaints about the conduct of a Washington state judicial officer may be considered by the Commission on Judicial Conduct. More information about the Commission on Judicial Conduct can be found at: https://www.cjc.state.wa.us/.

The Supreme Court established the Ethics Advisory Committee in 1983 to advise officials of the judicial branch as defined in article 4 of the Washington Constitution with respect to the application of the Code of Judicial Conduct (See GR 10.) It is a seven-member committee appointed from the Court of Appeals (one member), the Superior Court (two members), the courts of limited jurisdiction (two members), the Washington State Bar Association (one member) and the Administrative Office of the Courts (one member).

A Washington state judicial officer may request an Ethics Advisory Opinion by submitting a written request to:

Ethics Advisory Committee
Temple of Justice
PO Box 41174
Olympia, WA 98504-1174

A request for an opinion is confidential and not public unless the Supreme Court directs otherwise. Compliance with an opinion issued by the Committee shall be considered as evidence of good faith by the Supreme Court (GR 10(b)) and the Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJCRP 6(C)(2)(F)).

The committee also holds campaign forums where it discusses ethics issues that arise during the course of judicial campaigns. A prerecorded video of the most recent Judicial Campaign Forum and the Judicial Campaign Booklet, which includes frequently asked campaign questions, may be found here.