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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
2002-10 campaign activities, signs and endorsement

Can a judicial candidate’s signs be placed in public locations where other candidate signs are located?
Can a judicial candidate campaign, travel or visit potential votes with another candidate for office?
Can a judicial candidate solicit campaign support for a family court judge and put up signs for the FCJ candidate? [5A and 5C(3)]
2002-09 disclosure/disqualification

Can a mental hygiene commissioner represent a defendant in a criminal case where the MHC’s new law partner who is also MHC committed the defendant on four separate occasions? [6C]
2002-08 campaign activities and signs

Can a judicial candidate sell or give his/her old signs to another candidate? [None]
2002-07 campaign activities, senior status and resign to run

Can a senior status magistrate run for County Commission without having to resign his/her position? [5A(2), 6A and 6B(1) and (4)]
2002-06 extrajudicial activities and expert witness

Can a magistrate continue to work part-time as an expert witness reviewing civil litigation cases? [2B]
2002-05 extrajudicial Activities and speaker

Can a judge speak at the Annual Crime Solvers Banquet and at the state convention of the Fraternal Order of Police? [2A and 4C(3)]
2002-04 extrajudicial activities, civic and boards/commissions

Can a judge sit as an officer or member of the board of a community action agency? [4C]
2002-03 disclosure/disqualification, staff and former employment

Is the case coordinator for a family court judge disqualified from handling pre-screening mediation on cases where he/she had previously worked as a legal assistant for an attorney who represented one of the parties? [3C(2) and 3E(1)]
2002-02 extrajudicial activities, education and publication

Can a judge draft an article for publication in the WVU Law Review? [4B]
2002-01 appearance of impropriety/impropriety, testify and expert witness

May a senior status judge serve as an expert witness concerning attorney fees? [2B and 6B]