Opinion 93-37

March 11, 1993

Digest:         A supreme court justice may profit from the publication of a manual on criminal procedure, which originally was prepared by the judge for a judicial seminar.

Rules:          22 NYCRR §§100.4(a); 100.6(a).

Opinion:

         A supreme court justice inquires whether a judge may profit from the publication of a manual on criminal narcotics prosecution and procedure, which originally was prepared by the judge when a member of an OCA Curriculum Development Committee on Evidence, and which was distributed and used as the basis for a lecture at a judicial seminar. The judge states that the manual recently was updated and expanded in the judge's spare time. The updated manual was offered by the judge, and accepted, for use at a 1993 judicial seminar. The judge notes that a typist in the typing pool typed the material on a non-priority basis, and that the judge's law secretary checked citations and Shepardized cases, also on a non-priority basis.

         Section 100.4(a) and 100.6(a) of the Rules of the Chief Judge permit a judge to receive reasonable compensation for writing on subjects concerning the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice. The assistance from a typist and a law secretary appears to be incidental to the preparation of the manual for the Curriculum Development Committee. Therefore, it is the opinion of this Committee that the judge ethically may profit from a subsequent publication of such manual.