PARTICIPATION IN PLAN TO ENCOURAGE
JURORS TO DONATE JURY PAY
Opinion No. 147 (1992)
QUESTION: Should a judge participate in a plan to advise jurors that
they may make a voluntary donation of their jury pay to a "Children's Protective
Services Fund?"
ANSWER: No. Canon 5B(2)
provides that a judge shall not solicit funds for any educational, religious,
charitable, fraternal, political, or civic organization. Canon 4c provides that a Judge
should not personally participate in public fund raising activities for an organization
devoted to the improvement of the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice.
Opinions 10, 58,
131, and 137 (Question 4) construe
this Canon 4C provision.
There is another consideration if the court on which the judge serves has jurisdiction in
cases involving the protection of children. Canon
2A provides that a judge should promote public confidence in the impartiality of the
judiciary. The Committee concludes that a judge's participation in raising money for the
protection of children would create the appearance of partiality in cases involving
accusations of abuse of, or failure to protect, children. (Compare Opinion 126.)
The Committee concludes that a judge should not participate in advising jurors that they
may donate their jury pay to any cause.