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.

Digest: Where a judge knows their spouse retained counsel on a personal legal matter, and that attorney represents other clients before the judge: (1) During the representation, the judge is disqualified in matters involving that attorney, and must not preside unless the disqualification is properly remitted after full disclosure on the record. (2) Once the representation concludes and all fees are paid, and provided that the judge had no direct interest in the subject matter of their spouse’s representation, for two years, the judge must fully disclose the former representation when the attorney appears, but may then preside as long as the judge can be fair and impartial. (3) After the two-year post-representation period, the judge has no further obligation to disclose or recuse.

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