Opinion 91-73

June 13, 1991

Digest:         A judge may preside over a case involving the same defendant whom the judge formerly prosecuted when the judge was a prosecutor.

Rules:          22 NYCRR 100.3(c)

Opinion:

         A part-time judge asks whether the judge may preside over a zoning law violation case involving a defendant, whom the judge had prosecuted for a different violation of the zoning ordinance in a previous trial when the judge was a prosecutor.

         Section 100.3(c) of the Rules of the Chief Administrator requires that a judge disqualify himself or herself only in certain situations where the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned. Here, the judge may preside, provided the judge harbors no personal bias against the defendant and feels that he or she can be impartial.