Tcl - Court Business - April 2007 - Court Business

• Publication year: 2007
• Pages: 101
• Citation: Vol. 36 No. 4 Pg. 101

36 Colo.Law. 101 Colorado Lawyer 2007.

2007, April, Pg. 101. TCL - Court Business - April 2007 - Court Business

The Colorado Lawyer
April 2007
Vol. 36, No. 4 [Page 101]

From the Courts
Court Business

Court Business

Colorado Judicial Department
Colorado Supreme Court
Judicial Ethics Advisory Board Opinions

Colorado Supreme Court
Judicial Ethics Advisory Board (C.J.E.A.B.)
C.J.E.A.B. Advisory Opinion 2007-04
(Finalized and Effective February 21, 2007)
ISSUE PRESENTED

The requesting judge sits on the district Bench in a rural district. The district attorney (DA) in his district has hired as a deputy an attorney who worked in the DA's office with the judge fourteen years ago. When the judge and the attorney worked in the DA's office, they were close friends who exercised and went on camping trips together After the attorney left the DA's office, he asked the judge to be the godfather of his oldest child. After the christening, the judge and the attorney had a disagreement their relationship became estranged, and the judge's only contact with the attorney in the intervening thirteen or fourteen years has been a few telephone calls. The judge has had no contact with his godchild during this time. The judge states that he has made these facts known to other attorneys who appear in his court, but he has not yet had the attorney appear in any case before him. He asks whether his role as godfather to one of the attorney's children creates a conflict that requires him to disqualify himself or disclose the relationship when the attorney or another member of the DA's office appears before him

CONCLUSION

The judge is not required to disqualify himself when his estranged godchild's father appears before him, solely because of that relationship, but disqualification may nevertheless be appropriate depending on the judge's subjective and objective analysis of the circumstances. The judge should, however, disclose the godparent relationship to each party when his godchild's father appears in his court.

APPLICABLE CANONS OF THE CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT

Canon 2 provides that a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge's activities. Subsection B specifies that a judge should not allow family, social, or other relationships to influence the judge's judicial conduct or judgment. It further states that a judge should not convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.

Canon 3 provides that a judge should perform his or her duties impartially and diligently. Subsection C governs disqualification and specifies that a judge should disqualify himself or herself from a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where a judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party. It also directs a judge to disqualify himself or herself when the judge or the judge's spouse, or a person within the third degree of relationship to either of them, is involved in the proceedings.

DISCUSSION

This request asks the Board to apply the disqualification and disclosure framework set out in two recent opinions, 2006-05 and 2007-01...