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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
2023-21 disclosure, disqualification, election, spouse

Whether a magistrate would be disqualified from presiding over cases involving the Sheriff’s department if spouse was elected sheriff [2.11]
2023-20 campaign, election, signs, pamphlets, nonpartisan

Can a judicial candidate put his/her political party status on campaign materials? [4.2(B)(5)]
2023-19 campaign committee, election, charitable organization, fundraiser, sponsorship

Can a campaign committee sponsor a fundraiser for a charitable organization with the sponsorship listed under “Judge (name)?” [3.7(A)(2), 4.4]
2023-18 disclosure/ disqualification, family member, public defender, employment

Is a judge disqualified from presiding over cases involving the public defender’s office when his future daughter-in-law is employed by the entity as a Parental Resource Navigator? [Rule 2.11]
2023-17 television, infomercial, appearance of impropriety, disqualification

Can a judge appear as a guest on a lawyer infomercial? [1.2, 3.1(B), 3.1(C)]
2023-16 election, campaign committee, fundraiser, endorsement

Can a member of the House of Delegates who plans to run for office serve on a judge’s campaign committee or hold a fundraiser for the judicial candidate? [4.1(A)(3), 4.4]
2023-15 extrajudicial, rental, disclosure, disqualification

Can a judge rent a building that he/she already owns when taking office to a lawyer in his/her jurisdiction? [3.11(C)]
2023-14 extrajudicial, political organization

Can a judge and his/her spouse be a member of the County Republican Club? [3.7, 4.1(A)(1), 4.1(A)(3), 4.1(A)(4), 4.1(B), 4.2(A)(1)]
2023-13 family, disclosure, disqualification, concurrent

Can a new magistrate concurrently serve with his magistrate father in the same county and is he disqualified from presiding over cases formerly heard by his father? [2.11]
2023-12 family, extrajudicial activity, law, education

Can a circuit judge establish and participate in a teen court program when his/her spouse has a contract with the local board of education? [3.1(C), 3.7(A)(6)]