Opinion 88-32

March 24,1988

Topic:          Appearance by judge at a political club to speak about the legal system.

Digest:         A judge may not speak at a political club about the legal system.

Rules:          22NYCRR 100.7 (a) and (d)

Opinion:

         A judge who is not running for election inquires whether it would be appropriate to speak at a political club about the legal system.

         Section 100.7 (a) of the Rules of the Chief Administrator lists as a political activity prohibited to a judge not running for election, the judge’s attendance at “affairs sponsored by a political organization for a nonpolitical purpose. . .”

         Section 100.7 (d) of the Rules prohibits judges from permitting their names “to be used in connection with any activity of such political party, club, or organization.”

         Under the terms of these provisions, judges should not speak at a political club about the legal system.

         This Opinion is advisory only and is not binding upon either the Office of Court Administration or the Commission on Judicial Conduct.