ETHICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
STATE OF WASHINGTON
OPINION NO. 85-2


QUESTION

     Is it ethically permissible and appropriate for an incumbent judge, in
an contested election, to use complimentary comments concerning the court’s
operation and personnel during that judge’s tenure in office in the
campaign for re-election, where those comments originate, unsolicited, from
attorneys and others who have come into contact with the court and its
personnel?

ANSWER

     It is proper under CJC Canon 7(B) for a judge to utilize unsolicited
from attorneys and others who have come into contact with the court and its
personnel.

     Permission to use the comments should not be elicited by the judge
personally but rather by the campaign committee.

COMMENT

     The Committee suggests that actual permission be obtained before using
the comment, and the substance of the comment and whether the speaker was
acting in a personal or representative capacity should be reduced to
writing in order to avoid the possibility of misunderstandings