Opinion 92-86

September 24, 1992

Please Note: This opinion has been modified by Opinion 23-42: "[W]e amend Opinion 92-86 to reflect that, where a part-time judge serves as a nurse in a county jail, without supervisory responsibilities, disqualification is not necessarily required for all inmates of the county jail, but only for those inmates to whom the judge rendered medical care, assistance, or screening or with whom the judge otherwise interacted in the course of the judge's extra-judicial employment. Notwithstanding this change, we note the judge still retains the discretion to disqualify from matters involving all inmates, especially if tracking individual interactions would be unduly burdensome."

Citation Note: The rules were significantly revised and renumbered in 1996. As relevant here, former Section 100.5(h) was replaced by Section 100.6(B)(4).

Digest:         A part-time judge may serve as a nurse in a county jail, provided that the judge recuses himself or herself if any inmate comes before the judge.

Rule:            22 NYCRR 100.5(h).

Opinion:

         A part-time judge asks whether it is permissible to serve as a nurse in a county jail. The judge states that a maximum of six inmates per year are committed by the judge's court to the county jail.

         Section 100.5(h) of the Rules of the Chief Administrator permits part-time judges to assume other employment. Here, the judge may serve as a nurse in the county jail, but to avoid any conflict of interest, or appearance of impropriety, the judge should recuse himself or herself if any inmate comes before the judge. See, Opinion 90-201.