Judicial Ethics Opinion 20-134
May a town justice serve on the review planning board for the same town in which they preside?
January 25, 2021 at 05:12 AM
2 minute read
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.
We respond to your inquiry (20-134) about serving on the review planning board for the same municipality in which you preside as town justice. The planning board "oversees subdivisions of large parcels" in the town. It provides an initial review to "make sure applicants are following the legal procedure standards set by the local government," and then "refer[s] the information to the members of the Town Board" for approval.
A town justice may not serve on a zoning or planning board, where cases involving violations of such zoning regulations are handled in the town court (see e.g. Opinion 89-82). Here, too, the positions are incompatible.
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