Opinion 87-13

Topic:          Judge permitting use by the institution’s advertising manager of judge’s letter complimenting a publication of a private research institution

Digest:         A judge who wrote a letter to a private research institution complimenting a publication issued by that institution may not authorize its advertising manage to use the judge’s letter in advertising the publication

Rules:          100.2(c) Chief Administrator’s Rules

Opinion:

         A judge inquires whether he may permit the advertising manager of a private research institution to use for advertising purposes a complimentary letter that the judge wrote to the President of the institution concerning a publication of the institution. The Committee is of the opinion that the judge should not permit his letter to be used for advertising, in order to avoid a violation of section 100.2(c) of the Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts (22 NYCRR 100.2[c]) , which provides: “No judge shall lend the prestige of his or her office to advance the private interests of others . . . .”

         This opinion is advisory only and does not bind either the Office of Court Administration or the Commission on Judicial Conduct.