State of Washington

Ethics Advisory Committee

Questions:

I am a district court judge that performs wedding ceremonies. Our court has a website with general information about judges who perform marriages and the number to call for scheduling purposes. The website also mentions the judge will provide information about the fee when the wedding is scheduled. I would like to add the following language to the section of our court's website that provides general information about wedding services offered by our judges: "judges who officiate weddings, do so without bias, prejudice, or discrimination." Can this language be added without violating the Code of Judicial Conduct?

Answer:

A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. CJC Rule 1.2. A judge shall not abuse the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others, or allow others to do so. CJC Rule 1.3. A judge shall uphold and apply the law, and shall perform all duties of judicial office fairly and impartially. CJC Rule 2.2. A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office, without bias or prejudice. CJC Rule 2.3(A). A judge shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct manifest bias or prejudice. CJC Rule 2.3(B). A judge who manifests bias or prejudice in a proceeding impairs the fairness of the proceeding and brings the judiciary into disrepute. CJC Rule 2.3, comment [1]. A judge must avoid conduct that may reasonably be perceived as prejudiced or biased. CJC Rule 2.3, comment [2].

EAO 20-01 addresses advertising wedding services online and cautions that additional information beyond a judge's name and availability for the marriage ceremony may amount to inappropriate advertising or solicitation. A judge that advertises and solicits marriage ceremony services implicates appearance of impropriety and abuses the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal and economic interests of the judge. EAO 20-01. EAO 20-01 specifically considered when an individual judge states their availability to officiate LGBTQ weddings and found highlighting services offered by an individual judge promotes the sale of that judge's service and violates the Code.

However, there is a distinction between posting information to solicit and posting a statement informing the public that the service must be provided without bias or prejudice. If the proposed language is not attributed to a particular judge and is presented in manner that applies to the entire court, restating a judge's obligation under the Code to avoid bias and prejudice does not amount to solicitation or abuse the prestige of judicial office to benefit any particular judge or a third party.

Opinion 23-04

06/14/2023