Opinion 00-50

June 13, 2000

Digest:         A judge may serve on the Advisory Board of a Youth Court Program, provided that (1) the judge's court is not one from which referrals are made to the Youth Court, and (2) the judge does not engage in fund-raising on behalf of the Program.

Rule:            22 NYCRR 100.2; 100.4(A)(1); Opinion 99-178.

Opinion:

         A full-time judge has been invited to join the Advisory Board of a town Youth Court Program that is being instituted. The judge asks if the invitation may be accepted.

         On the facts presented, the Committee sees no ethical objection to the judge serving on the Advisory Board. As in Opinion 99-178, the judge's court is not a court from which referrals may be made to the Youth Court, nor is the judge expected to engage in fund-raising. It is those two factors that the Committee found decisive in Opinion 99-178, in which the Committee stated that serving on the executive board of a Youth Court is a permissible extra-judicial activity and does not engender an appearance of impropriety, provided that the two conditions as to fund-raising and referrals are met. 22 NYCRR 100.2; 100.4(A)(1). Since that appears to be the case in this instance, service on the Advisory Board is not improper.