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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
1999-04 disclosure/disqualification and former employment

When is a magistrate, who previously served as a public defender, required to recuse himself/herself from presiding over cases involving the public defender’s office? [3E(1)]
1999-03 disclosure/disqualification and family member

Is a judge required to disclose that his/her spouse works as an attorney at the Bureau of Child Support in a different jurisdiction from where he/she resides in any matter involving the agency? [3E(1)]
1999-01 extrajudicial activities and boards/commissions

Can a judge serve on a committee to perform a county government facility utilization study concerning Courthouse facilities? [4C(1) and 4C(2)]
1998-18 judicial duties and disclosure/disqualification

Can a judge, whose former law partner is a part-time prosecutor handling abuse and neglect cases, participate in quarterly status review and post-dispositional matters since many may be time sensitive? [None]
1998-16 disclosure/disqualification, former employment and prosecutor

Is a newly appointed judge disqualified from presiding over juvenile and abuse and neglect cases involving his/her soon to be former law partner who also serves as a part-time prosecutor?
Is the judge disqualified from handling any other matters involving the prosecutor’s office? [3E(1)]
1998-15 extrajudicial activities and boards/commissions

Can a judge serve on the Artistic Committee of the Wheeling Symphony? [4C(3)]
1998-14 winding down practice and financial activities

Can a family law master accept a fee from a personal injury case that he/she filed while in private practice and settled by another lawyer after the family law master took office? [None]
1998-13 resign to run and appointment

Does a family law master have to resign to apply for a federal magistrate position? [None]
1998-12 concurrent employment

Can a part-time family law master concurrently serve as a part-time federal magistrate? [None]
1998-11 disclosure/disqualification, and former employment

Can a judge sentence a criminal defendant whom the judge represented in another criminal matter when he/she practiced law? [3E(1)]