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 in Albany County, and the Honorable Lillian Wan, an associate justice of the appellate division, second department.

This responds to your inquiry (22-43) in which you stated that you have become aware of reports of off-duty misconduct posted online concerning another judge’s principal law clerk.  You have further stated that the accusations allege that the law clerk has a history of “demeaning” high school students engaged in an extracurricular activity over a period of years and making “explicit sexual comments” to them while serving in a position of authority.  You have no personal knowledge of the alleged misconduct, but have noted that these online complaints are “readily available by doing a simple Google search of the attorney’s name.”  You have asked if you must report the other judge’s law clerk.

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