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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
1991-04 extrajudicial activities, financial activities, donationand office equipment

Can a judge receive a monetary gratuity in exchange for performing a wedding?
Can a judge except contributions in the form of money or office equipment from a charitable, fraternal or community-minded non-profit organization in order to provide office equipment that the government is unwilling or unable to fund?
May a judge contribute money from his personal estate to provide necessaries for his/her office that the government is unwilling or unable to fund? [5C(1) and 5C(4)]
1991-01 extrajudicial activities, rental property and disqualification

What options are available to a judge who owns a building with tenets as lawyers? [5C(1)]
1990-10 campaign activities and endorsement

Is a judge’s attendance at a campaign fundraiser or a purchase of an event ticket for a magistrate candidate considered an endorsement? [None]
1990-09 campaign activities, endorsement, signs and bumper sticker

Can a judge publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for office, display campaign materials on private property for those candidates, or place bumper stickers for them on private automobiles? [None]
1990-07 extrajudicial activity and letter

Can a judge write a letter to the presiding judge on behalf of a criminal defendant? [None]
1990-05 disclosure/disqualification

Is a judge disqualified from presiding over any cases involving a lawyer or his firm when the attorney prepared wills for the judge and his/her spouse? [None]
1990-04 extrajudicial activities, boards/commissions, government, political activities and donation

Can a family law master accept appointment to the county Solid Waste Authority? [5G]
Can a family law master donate to another’s political campaign?
1990-02 extrajudicial activities, boards/commissions and charity

Can a magistrate serve on the board of directors of a non-profit foundation established for the improvement of Bluestone State Park? [5B]
1990-01 extrajudicial activities, fundraiser, solicitation and charity

Can a judge participate in a fundraiser entitled the WV Run for the American Cancer Society? [5B(2)]
1989-04 appearance of impropriety/impropriety, extrajudicial activities, letter and character

Can a judge write a character letter for a defendant in a federal criminal case? [2B]