STATE OF WASHINGTON
ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
OPINION NO. 92-15

Question
     May a judicial officer appoint an attorney as a pro tem judge if the
attorney is a member of the board of trustees of a non-profit corporation
which provides public defender services to the court, when public defender
attorneys who are employed by that corporation would appear before that pro
tem judge?

Answer
     CJC Canon 5B applies to pro tem judges while they are serving in that
capacity.  CJC Canon 5B(1) provides that judges should not serve if it is
likely that the organization will be engaged in proceedings that would
ordinarily come before the judge or will be regularly engaged in adversary
proceedings in court.
     Because the public defenders would appear in this court before the pro
tem judge, it would not be appropriate under Canon 5B(1) for the judge to
appoint the attorney who serves on the public defender board as the pro tem
judge.

Comment See Opinion 92-3