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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
2022-23 extrajudicial activities, photo, donation, and money

Is a Judge who is a member of the board of a bench/bar committee able to handle money on behalf of the board or appear in a photo where money is donated to another organization? [1.3 and 3.7(A)(2)]
2022-22 employment, staff, appointment, impropriety/appearance of impropriety, and favoritism

Can a magistrate clerk who concurrently works part time as a realtor hire a person to work in her office who the clerk/realtor had just sold a home too without benefit of advertising the position or conducting interviews? [1.2, 2.4(B), 2.13(A) and 2.14(A)]
2022-21 extrajudicial activity, television

Can a sitting judge concurrently serve as a paid tv judge on national cable network television show? [3.1(A) and 3.1(C)]
2022-20 disqualification, disclosure. Government employment

Is a judge disqualified from presiding over an appeal where he/she had minimal involvement in legislation that indirectly relates to the issues on appeal? [2.11(A)(1) and 2.11(A)(5)]
2022-19 employment, nepotism

Can a magistrate court clerk continue to hold office if her husband is elected magistrate in the same county? [2.13(A)(2)]
2022-18 gift, library, official use

Can a court accept a donation of a modest law library from a retired lawyer for official use? [3.13(A) and 3.13(B)(7)]
2022-17 disqualification/disclosure

Does a judge’s residency or prior service with a municipality prevent him/her from presiding over a suit involving that city’s attempt to assess stormwater fees on all residents of the county? [2.11(A)(1), 2.11(A)(5) and 2.11(C)]
2022-16 extrajudicial activities, education, volunteer

Can a law clerk volunteer with the Center of Consumer Law and Education at WVU’s College of Law? [3.7(A)(5) and 3.7(A)(6)]
2022-15 staff member, extrajudicial activities, legislation

Can an administrative assistant for a judge work with a state legislator on a proposal that would allow “a mother to be charged criminally if she uses drugs while pregnant and the baby is born but shortly dies from said drug use?" [1.2, 2.12(A), and 3.1(A), (B) and (C)]
2022-14 extrajudicial activities, contributions, solicitation, charity and education

Can the Supreme Court request funds from a charitable trust associated with the spouse of a justice to help build a judicial learning center that is designed to teach individuals of all ages about the legal system? [3.7(A)(2)]