Opinion 23-219
February 1, 2024
Digest: A judge may serve as financial secretary of a not-for-profit cemetery organization, provided the judge refrains from the solicitation of funds or other fund-raising activities.
Rules: 22 NYCRR 100.2; 100.2(A); 100.4(C)(3)(a); 100.4(C)(3)(b)(i); Opinions 23-91; 23-73; 20-174; 10-68; 98-93.
Opinion:
A part-time judge, currently on the board of directors for a not-for-profit cemetery, asks if he/she may assume the role of financial secretary. The position of financial secretary entails the collection of all fees for purchase of plots and internments, payment of invoices, and supervision of investments.
A judge must always avoid even the appearance of impropriety (see 22 NYCRR 100.2) and must always act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the judiciary’s integrity and impartiality (see 22 NYCRR 100.2[A]). A judge generally may serve as an officer, director, trustee, or non-legal advisor of a not-for-profit educational, religious, charitable, cultural, fraternal, or civic organization, subject to certain limitations (see 22 NYCRR 100.4[C][3][a]). A judge “may participate in the management and investment of the organization’s funds” but must not “personally participate in the solicitation of funds or other fund-raising activities” (22 NYCRR 100.4[C][3][b][i]).
In our view, the judge may serve as the cemetery organization’s financial secretary, provided the judge refrains from the solicitation of funds or other fund-raising activities (see Opinions 23-73 [secretary-treasurer of a not-for-profit organization that operates a cemetery]; 20-174 [trustee overseeing endowment and expenditures of a not-for-profit cemetery association]; see also Opinions 23-91 [treasurer for local American Legion post]; 10-68 [treasurer of a county bar association]; 98-93 [treasurer of cooperative apartment building]). As we have previously cautioned, “the judge’s name and judicial status should not be used in the solicitation of dues or other contributions” (Opinion 23-73).