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JUDICIAL INVESTIGATION COMMISSION
ADVISORY OPINIONS

In 2021, the Judicial Investigation Commission decided to update the JIC Advisory Opinion Website. All relevant opinions were redacted to remove the identifying information of the requestor and uploaded in their entirety to the website. Importantly, they are now searchable by assigned number, topic and/or Code provision. Obsolete opinions were identified and retired.

Numbers were given to each advisory opinion. The number to the left of the hyphen (-) represents the year in which the advisory opinion was written. The number to the right of the hyphen (-) is the actual opinion number. New topics were created, and each advisory opinion was ascribed one or more for ease of reference. Lengthy summaries were reduced to questions(s) presented and applicable Code Rules have been listed to the right of them. Not every advisory opinion contains a Rule.

Beginning with JIC AO 2015-23 through the current advisory opinion, the Rules cited pertain to the West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct in effect from December 1, 2015 to the present time. Beginning with JIC Advisory Opinion 1993-02 through JIC Advisory Opinion 2015-19, the Rules cited pertain to the Code in effect from January 1, 1993 through November 30, 2015. Beginning with JIC Advisory Opinion 1985-01 through JIC Advisory Opinion 1992-23, the Rules cited pertain to the Code in effect from January 1, 1973 through December 31, 1992.

Retired Advisory Opinions from 6/6/2023

Retired Advisory Opinions from 12/10/2021

Old to new code conversion

Advisory Opinion Topic Words

 

Complaint Number Topic Question/Code Reference
2016-02 ampaign activities and staff

Is it permissible for a prominent preacher, who is married to a probation officer, to serve without renumeration as spokesman for a judicial campaign? [4.1(A)(10) and 4.1(A)(11)]
2016-01 campaign activities and social media

Can a judicial candidate post videos on a campaign Facebook page answering questions concerning family court issues and/or procedural matters? [3.10, 4.1(A)(10), 4.1(A)(11), 4.2(A)(1) and 4.2(B)(2)]
2015-26 campaign activities

Can a city council member host a “meet and greet” for a judicial candidate? [4.1(A)(3), 4.2(A)(1) and 4.2(A)(2)]
2015-25 discipline and reporting requirements

Is a Judge required to report a lawyer who may have overbilled Public Defender Services to the Office of Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel? [None]
2015-24 disclosure/disqualification and former employment

Should a family court judge disqualify himself/herself from cases he/she handled while a law clerk for a circuit judge? [2.11(A)(5)(b)]
2015-23 campaign activities and signs

Can old campaign signs, printed with information that is no longer accurate, be used in a current campaign? [4.1(A)(9), 4.2(A)(1) and 4.2{A}(5)]
2015-19 disclosure/disqualification and representation

Should a family court judge recuse himself/herself from any cases involving an attorney who is representing the Association governing family court case coordinators and administrative assistants in a writ over pay? [3E(1)]
2015-18 disclosure/disqualification and representation

Should a family court judge recuse himself/herself from any cases involving an attorney who represents the Family Court Judicial Association in a writ over pay? [3E(1)]
2015-17 appearance of impropriety/impropriety, family member, disclosure/disqualification and prosecutor

Is a magistrate per se disqualified from handling any criminal cases if his son-in-law is the prosecutor? [2A]
2015-16 public comment and confidential

Should a judge advise an attorney of threats made about him/her during a DV hearing? [3B(11)]