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.

Digest: (1) Where a judge's spouse ceased employment with a law firm approximately five years ago and has subsequently appeared as opposing counsel to the spouse's former law partner, the judge need not disqualify in unrelated proceedings involving the spouse's former law partner or law firm, notwithstanding the partner's threats to file a grievance or lawsuit against the judge's spouse, unless and until (a) the grievance committee commences formal disciplinary proceedings against the judge's spouse based on the partner's complaint and/or (b) a formal adversarial legal proceeding is commenced concerning the dissolution of the financial or business relationship.

(2) Where an attorney alleges in a recusal motion that the judge and the attorney previously had a close social relationship which subsequently deteriorated into an adversarial relationship, the judge should fully disclose the nature and extent of that relationship so that a determination can be made whether recusal is required under such circumstances.