State of Washington

Ethics Advisory Committee

Question

May a judge report a lawyer's violation of the Rules of Professional conduct arising from a confidential juvenile dependency case? If yes, what information may the judge disclose?

Answer

Although not required to report lawyer misconduct, a judge having knowledge that a lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct that raises a substantial question regarding the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer should inform the appropriate authority (CJC 2.15(B), Comments [1] – [3]). Reporting lawyer misconduct under these circumstances is appropriate as long the matter is not pending or impending before that judge's court (CJC 2.9).

The Washington State Supreme Court regulates lawyer conduct and delegates authority to the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) to review and investigate complaints against lawyers. The Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct (ELC) rules provide a process for submitting a grievance against an attorney, but they do not describe the minimum information required to initiate that process (ELC Title 5). The WSBA lawyer discipline process is presumptively public, with exceptions for certain confidential information. Any person or entity may file a grievance against a lawyer and, subject to certain provisions, the grievance and all associated information are subject to public disclosure (ELC 5.1(a)-(b)).

Although a judge must cooperate and be candid and honest with lawyer disciplinary agencies (CJC 2.16), a judge may not intentionally disclose or use nonpublic information acquired in a judicial capacity for any purpose unrelated to the judge's judicial duties (CJC 3.5). The confidentiality of, and restrictions upon, release of court records related to dependency cases are governed by Chapter 13.50 RCW, GR 15, GR 30, GR 31.1, and relevant public records case law. RCW 13.50.100 enumerates the bases for disclosing records in a dependency case. Although the statute allows disclosure of dependency records to other agencies in limited circumstances, it provides no exception for disclosing confidential information to support a complaint of lawyer misconduct.

Given the statutes and rules, a judge may file a grievance after the case is not pending or impending before that judge's court with enough descriptive information to identify the attorney and the nature of the misconduct, as long as the judge does not disclose confidential case records and information.

Opinion 16-08

12/20/2016