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: (1) Where an appellate judge successfully sought to vacate a vexatious lien filed by a disgruntled litigant against the judge's real property, the judge may nonetheless preside over appeals from other decisions or orders rendered by the lower court judge who granted the petition to vacate, provided the appellate judge can be fair and impartial. (2) While an appellate judge is the uncompensated administrator and sole beneficiary in a relative's uncontested estate proceeding, the judge need not recuse from appeals involving other orders or decisions issued by the Surrogate overseeing the estate proceedings or from appeals involving the Public Administrator and/or its counsel, provided the appellate judge can be fair and impartial.  However, disclosure is required at a suitable point in the appeal, whether in writing or from the bench.