Opinion 91-55

April 25, 1991

Digest:         Part-time judges may march in a parade celebrating a county bi-centennial and the end of the war in the Persian Gulf.

Rules:          22 NYCRR §100.2.

Opinion:

         A part-time judge asks whether a county's magistrates' association may include a float, displaying the group's banner, in a community parade celebrating both the county's bi-centennial and the success of Operation Desert Storm during the Persian Gulf War. Although the event is not for fundraising purposes, one or more of the other floats or vehicles in the parade may be advertising a private manufacturing company.

         There is no rule prohibiting the activity described in this inquiry. A judicial association's public participation in a celebration of either a bi-centennial, or the successful conclusion of a war does not present an ethical concern in the absence of associated fundraising efforts. As for the possibility of a few other floats displaying commercial advertisements, there is no ethical problem presented as long as the other floats are not obviously connected with the magistrate's float during the procession.