Opinion 22-163

December 15, 2022

Question:     May a full-time judge, who has independently written and published a bench book, sell copies of that book to the supervising judge of another court in the Unified Court System for distribution to judges in that court?

Discussion:   The Committee has previously advised that a full-time judge who has independently written, published, marketed, and sold a bench book to the public may sell the book directly to the Unified Court System’s Office of Court Administration (Opinion 14-23). We found this sale permissible because the book was not written or published “for or on behalf of” the Unified Court System or OCA (NYCRR 100.4[H][1][c]). Here, the inquirer independently wrote and published the bench book, and the supervising judge of another court has initiated the request for a bulk purchase. Although questions involving business activities can be highly fact-specific (see Opinion 15-182), the only difference between the sale in Opinion 14-23 and that proposed here is that the purchase request has been made by a supervising judge rather than the Office of Court Administration. Accordingly, the inquiring judge may sell the bench book in bulk to the supervising judge.

Enclosed:     Opinions 15-182; 14-23