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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
2023-11 senior status, concurrent, extrajudicial

Can a senior status magistrate concurrently work as court security? [1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1(A), 3.1(B), 3.1(C)]
2023-10 employment, extrajudicial activities, concurrent, prosecutor

Can a mental hygiene commissioner concurrently serve as an assistant prosecutor in a different county? [1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1(A), 3.1(B), 3.1(C)]
2023-09 education, juvenile, training, impartial

Can a magistrate hold a training pertaining to juvenile cases if all sides are represented during the training? [3.1(A), 3.1(B), 3.1(C), 3.1(D) and 3.1(E) and 3.7(A)(1)]
2023-08 employment, extrajudicial activities, concurrent

Can a magistrate start a part-time LLC selling items on Amazon? [3.1(A), 3.1(B), 3.1(C), 3.1(D) and 3.1(E)]
2023-07 employment, staff, extrajudicial activities, concurrent

Can a probation officer work concurrently for the sheriff’s department? [2.12(A), 3.1(A), 3.1(B), 3.1(C) and 3.1(E)]
2023-06 campaign committee, disclosure, disqualification, technicality

Is a judge required to disclose or disqualify if a member of his/her campaign committee appears before him/her when the campaign committee had to be reopened on a technicality? [none]
2023-05 disclosure, disqualification, appointment, election, campaign

Is a judge disqualified from presiding over cases involving a lawyer who is running against him/her or the lawyer’s campaign manager? Should a judge appoint an opposing candidate or his/her campaign manager to court appointed cases during the pendency of the election? [2.11, 2.13, 4.1(A)(3)]
2023-04 disclosure, disqualification, county employees, grand jury

Can a judge preside over a grand jury matter involving two county employees and where one of them was a long ago former business partner of the judge’s father? [2.11]
2023-03 disclosure, disqualification

How long must a judge disclose personal representation by a lawyer who has represented him/her in a matter after the representation has concluded? [2.11]
2023-02 extrajudicial activity, education

Can a magistrate serve on a local scholarship committee through the local library? [3.7]