Chester County lawyer Samuel C. Stretton. Courtesy photo

The best practice is for a judge to never discuss a case with anyone.

I am a fairly new judicial officer and had an interesting case. I have taken the case under advisement, but there was a hearsay issue, and I wanted to consult with my old evidence professor in law school. Can I do so?

The answer is found in the current Code of Judicial Conduct. Normally, a judge is not allowed to consult with persons on how to decide a case other than, of course, their law clerks. Like everything else, all evidence is to be taken only from the courtroom. The Code of Judicial Conduct, under Rule 2.9 titled "Ex-Parte Communications," has some exceptions. Rule 2.9 starts out with the general rule that a judge cannot have ex-parte communications outside of the presence of the parties or their lawyers, but there are exceptions. The first exception is ex-parte communications can occur for scheduling or administrative purposes as long as they don't address substantive issues. If that occurs, a judge has to be absolutely sure that no party will gain a procedural or substantive or tactical advantage as a result of the ex-part communication, and as soon as possible, a judge must notify all parties of the substance of the ex-parte communication.