State of Washington

Ethics Advisory Committee

Opinion 94-07

Question

Is it a conflict of interest for a part-time district court judge, who sits only in the county district court, to be in a law firm that has the contract to defend indigent clients in the municipal court that is within the geographical boundaries of the district court but which courts are independent of one another and the part-time district court judge does not sit in the municipal court?

Answer

It is not a conflict of interest for a part-time district court judge, who sits only in the county district court, to be in a law firm that has the contract to defend indigent clients in the municipal court because they are two separate independent courts.

The Supreme Court adopted a new Code of Judicial Conduct effective January 1, 2011. In addition to reviewing the ethics advisory opinions, the following should be noted:

CJC Application II
CJC Terminology “Part-time judge”
CJC 1.2
CJC 2.4(B)
CJC 2.11

Opinion 94-07

05/31/1994

 

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