The Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics responds to written inquiries from New York state's approximately 3,600 judges and justices, as well as hundreds of judicial hearing officers, support magistrates, court attorney-referees, and judicial candidates (both judges and non-judges seeking election to judicial office). The committee interprets the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct (22 NYCRR Part 100) and, to the extent applicable, the Code of Judicial Conduct. The committee consists of 27 current and retired judges, and is co-chaired by the Honorable Margaret Walsh, a justice of the supreme court, and the Honorable Lillian Wan, a court of claims judge and acting supreme court justice. 

This responds to your inquiry (20-183) asking whether you, a town justice, may serve on your town's "Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative," which was formed in response to the Governor's Executive Order 203. You note the town's committee will include representatives of the District Attorney's office and the Public Defender's office, in addition to other officials and citizens.

In Opinion 20-112, we advised that judges may not participate in committees formed in response to Executive Order 203, which will recommend changes to current police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures and practices.