Opinion 98-6                                     Page 1 of 1
7/24/98

                     STATE OF WASHINGTON
                  ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
                        OPINION 98-6
                              
                              
Question
     May a judicial officer take part in a ballot issue
campaign for a tax levy to fund the maintenance and
operations of a local public mental health and substance
abuse treatment facility?

     May a judicial officer speak in favor of such a
proposal?  May a judicial officer serve on an "advisory
committee" in support of the proposal?

     May the judicial officer serve on a citizen committee
which seeks to raise funds in order to campaign for the
proposal?

     The facility will provide short-term residential
treatment and/or detoxification services which are not
presently available in the county in which the judicial
officer presides.  The facility will provide services which
the court may access in particular cases.  At present, the
need for such crisis services require placement of
individuals outside of the county.

Answer
     CJC Canon 4(A) provides in part that judicial officers
may participate in and speak on matters concerning the
administration of justice.  CJC Canon 7(A)(5) provides that
judges may not engage in political activities except on
behalf of measures to improve the law, the legal system or
the administration of justice.

     Having a local public mental health and substance abuse
treatment facility to provide services will improve the
administration of justice.  Therefore, the judicial officer
may speak in favor of the ballot measure and serve on an
advisory committee in support of the ballot proposal.  The
judicial officer should, however, confine comments in
support of the ballot proposal to those aspects of the
mental health and substance abuse treatment facility which
directly affect the administration of justice and not on its
broader impact on the community.

     The Code of Judicial Conduct however, does not permit a
judicial officer to engage in fund raising activities for
ballot measures.  The judicial officer may not serve on a
citizen committee which will be raising funds in support of
the ballot measure unless the judicial officer can be
insulated from those fund raising activities.

     See Opinions 92-5, 94-10 and 95-3.