Opinion 08-55

March 13, 2008

Digest:         A judge whose parent is a freelance court reporter who may perform work for attorneys who will appear in the judge’s court is not disqualified in every case where the judge’s parent works as a freelance reporter or when a transcript that the judge’s parent prepared is introduced into evidence, but the judge should disclose the relationship in the latter instance. The judge should disqualify him/herself if the judge’s parent is called to testify in the judge’s court.

Rules:       22 NYCRR 100.2(A), (B); 100.3(E)(1). 

Opinion:

         A judge’s parent is a freelance court reporter who may perform work for attorneys who will appear in the judge’s court. The judge does not know which lawyers retain his/her parent’s services and will make sure that his/her parent does not disclose that information to him/her. The judge asks whether he/she should disclose his/her parent’s occupation or whether he/she is disqualified from presiding in any cases because of his/her parent’s occupation.

         Pursuant to the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct, a judge must act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary (see 22 NYCRR 100.2[A]) and shall not allow family relationships to influence the judge’s judicial conduct or judgment (see 22 NYCRR 100.2[B]). A judge must disqualify him/herself in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned (see 22 NYCRR 100.3[E][1]).

          In the Committee’s view, the mere fact that the inquiring judge’s parent works as a freelance court reporter for an attorney appearing before the judge does not warrant the judge’s disqualification. The judge also need not disqualify him/herself if a transcript that the judge’s parent produced is admitted into evidence in the judge’s court, but the judge should disclose that he/she is related to the court reporter who prepared the transcript. The judge should disqualify him/herself, however, if the judge’s parent is called to testify in a proceeding in the judge’s court as, in that case, the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned (see id.).