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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
2007-12 concurrent employment and government

Can a Mental Hygiene concurrently serve as an elected city council member? [None]

2007-11 staff and loan

Can an attorney who has no substantive pending matters before a judge loan a judge’s staff member money? [None]

2007-10 extrajudicial activities, charity and boards/commissions

Can a judge serve on the board of directors for the Red Cross? [4C(3)]

2007-09 staff, family member and employment

Can the wife of a judge’s bailiff be employed as a secretary in the prosecutor’s office? [None]

2007-08 concurrent employment

Can a Mental Hygiene Commissioner accept court-appointed criminal cases? [6C(2)]

2007-07 family member, employment and nepotism

Can a circuit judge’s daughter serve as a magistrate assistant in the same county where the judge presides? [3C(4)]

2007-06 extrajudicial activities, government boards/commissions

May a judge serve on a county FEMA Board? [4A and 4B(3)]

2007-05 staff, employment and nepotism

Can a magistrate hire his/her son-in-law as his/her assistant? [3C(4)]

2007-04 extrajudicial activities and education

May a judge appear in an educational video regarding underage drinking? [4B]

2007-03 letter and character

Can a justice write a letter of support for a good friend’s relative who is about to be sentenced for a crime in a Kentucky courtroom? [2B]