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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
1993-11 disclosure/disqualification and prosecutor

Can a mental hygiene commissioner continue to serve in that capacity if his law partner works as a part-time assistant prosecutor? [None]
1993-10 disclosure/disqualification and family member

Can a judge preside over cases when his/her fiancé/spouse is employed by a solo practitioner attorney who represents a party to the proceeding? [3E(1)]
1993-09 extrajudicial activities, staff and gift/loan/bequest/devise

Can a court reporter accept a lawyer’s offer to let him/her use the attorney’s beach condo at a reduced rate? [4D(5)(b)]
1993-08 extrajudicial activities and education

Can a judge serve as the judge in a mock trial involving high school students and drinking and driving? [None]
1993-07 extrajudicial activities, education law/legal system/administration of justice

Can a judge participate in an American Inn of Court program? [None]
1993-05 financial activities and disclosure/disqualification

Is a judge required to divest himself/herself of stock in a company designed to develop local real estate and in which one of the other investors is an attorney who regularly appears in front of the judge? [4D(1)(b)]
1993-04 extrajudicial activities, rental property, disqualification/disclosure and family member

Can a judge lease rental property to two lawyers who appear before him/her?
Can a judge preside over truancy cases when his/her brother-in-law is the attendance director for the board of education and is likely to serve as a witness in such cases? [3E(1) and 4D(1)(B)]
1993-02 judicial duties, staff, family member and nepotism

Can a magistrate employ his/her sister-in-law as his/her magistrate assistant? [3C(4)]
1992-23 extrajudicial activities and boards/commissions

Can a family law master serve on the board of the Mountaineer Habitat for Humanity, Inc.? [5B]
1992-21 disclosure/disqualification, family member and prosecutor

Is a magistrate disqualified from handling criminal cases if his/her spouse works as a secretary to the elected prosecutor? [3C(1)