State of Washington

Ethics Advisory Committee

Question

May a full time Superior Court Commissioner serve as a member of an ethics advisory committee which is being established by a hospital owned and operated by a Public Hospital District?

Answer

Our answer to this question is premised on the following representations provided to the Committee: 1) the guidelines for the hospital ethics advisory committee state that the committee is to serve in an advisory capacity and/or as a resource to persons involved in biomedical decision making and is to evaluate institutional experiences related to reviewing decisions having biomedical ethical implications; and 2) the hospital is on occasion a litigant in Superior Court.

Based on this representation, it is not proper under CJC Canon 5(B)(1) for a judge to serve as a member of the hospital ethics advisory committee as the hospital is on occasion engaged in adversary proceedings in court.

See opinions 85-1, 85-5.

Opinion 90-01

01/11/1990