Opinion 04-99

September 14, 2004

Digest:         A judge is not obligated to disclose the relationship or disqualify him/herself solely because the judge’s spouse and the County Attorney share a mutual ownership interest in rental real property and an assistant county attorney appears before the judge.

Rules:          22 NYCRR 100.3(E)(1)(c), (d); 100.3(E)(2). Opinions 90-91 (Vol. VI); 93-08 (Vol. X)

Opinion:

         The spouse of a Family Court judge has a partial ownership interest in two rental properties. The County Attorney also has a partial ownership interest in those properties. The judge inquires if there is any need for disclosure or disqualification in matters in which assistant county attorneys appear before the judge.

         The Rules Governing Judicial Conduct require that a judge disqualify him/herself in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned. 22 NYCRR 100.3(E)(1). The Rules specifically require that a judge make a reasonable effort keep informed about the economic interests held by his or her spouse and disqualify him/herself if the spouse has an economic interest or other interest in the outcome of the proceeding. 22 NYCRR 100.3(E)(1)(c), (d); 100.3(E)(2).

         This Committee has previously stated that a full-time judge had no obligation to disclose the relationship or to disqualify him/herself in a circumstance where the judge’s spouse serves in a large public law office like the Corporation Counsel, District Attorney or County Attorney in a major metropolitan area and another assistant from that office is appearing before the judge, unless the judge’s spouse has an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the case or is otherwise involved with the case. See, Opinions 90-91 (Vol. VI); 93-08 (Vol. X).

         The spouse’s interest in this inquiry is even more remote than that addressed in Opinions 90-91 (Vol. VI) and 93-08 (Vol. X). In the instant matter, the spouse’s only interest is a personal business relationship with the County Attorney as private individuals. The spouse does not have any employment relationship with the County Attorney nor does he or she have any interest, financial or otherwise, in the outcome of Family Court proceedings. Therefore, the judge is not obligated to disclose the relationship or disqualify him/herself solely because the judge’s spouse shares a mutual ownership interest in rental real property and an assistant county attorney appears before the judge.