QUESTION: May a person who has been appointed as a Master of a District Court continue to serve as a member of a city planning and zoning board?

ANSWER: Although a Master of a Court is not a judge, the compliance section of the Code of Judicial Conduct makes a master or a referee, who are permanently appointed by a district judge, subject to compliance with the provisions of the Code. Canon 5G, concerning extra-judicial appointments, states "A judge should not accept appointments to a governmental committee, commission, or other position that is concerned with issues of fact or policy on matters other than the improvement of the Law, the Legal system or the Administration of Justice." The Committee is of the opinion that serving on a city planning and zoning board, by a permanently appointed master, does not fall within any of the exceptions enumerated in Canon 5G and is prohibited by the Code of Judicial Conduct.

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*Canon 8E, Compliance, was amended effective December 16, 1987.