090920 WAEO, ETH 20-06

• Case Date: September 09, 2020
• Court: Washington

ETH 20-06 Opinion 20-06 Washington Ethics Opinions September 9, 2020          Question:          Whether an attorney, who is retired from private practice but licensed through the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA), and is also married to a judge on the Superior Court Bench, should continue to be listed on the Superior Court's approved arbitrator list and GAL registries?          The attorney was originally appointed to the arbitrator list in 1991 and has remained on the list since that time. He is appointed as an arbitrator in individual civil cases through randomly-generated strike lists, giving the parties/counsel the opportunity to strike his name as a viable selection. The attorney has served ably and assisted the court since that time. In 1997, the attorney applied, and was appointed to, the Court's Title 26 and Title 11 Guardianship ad Litem (GAL) registries. His appointment is subject to the selection procedures outlined in State and local court rules.          In 2005, the attorney's spouse was appointed to the Superior Court bench and continues to serve today. The court, the attorney/judge's spouse, and the judge have taken great care to ensure that the nature of their roles have not intersected in any capacity in the Superior Court.          Answer:          Judges are required to act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. CJC 1.2. CJC 2.13(A) requires judges to exercise their power to make administrative appointments impartially, on the basis of merit, and to avoid nepotism and favoritism.          In previous ethics advisory opinions, the Committee has advised that when making administrative appointments involving relatives, the court must act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the judiciary by not allowing family or other relationships to influence their judicial conduct, by adopting hiring protocols based on merit to avoid the appearance of nepotism and favoritism, and by diligently discharging their administrative responsibilities and facilitating...