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Pennsylvania Code



Subchapter B. REQUESTS FOR JUDICIAL ADVISORIES; ACTIONS BY THE BOARD; RULES OF RELIANCE


Rule


201.    Standards and Timing for Requests.
202.    Assignment to Panel; Composition of Panel.
203.    Provisional Advice.
204.    Board Action and Publication of Opinions and Guidance.
205.    Informational Discussions.
206.    Rules of Reliance.
207.    Reconsideration.
208.    Records of Board Proceedings.

Source

   The provisions of this Subchapter B added January 14, 2022, effective July 1, 2022, 52 Pa.B. 680.

Rule 201. Standards and Timing for Requests.

 Any judicial officer may request an ethics advisory opinion (‘‘Request’’). A Request must be submitted to the Board in writing, which may include an email to an address designated by the Board. A Request must contain a statement of the facts regarding the intended conduct and a concise question of judicial ethics, with references to the relevant section(s) of the Codes, case law and other authority the inquiring judicial officer has already consulted. A Request must relate to the inquiring judicial officer’s own prospective conduct or conduct of the inquiring judicial officer that has occurred in the past and is ongoing. A Request may not relate to hypothetical situations or to facts that are the subject of past or pending litigation, disciplinary investigation or disciplinary proceedings.

 A Request must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the event or action giving rise to the question. The Board Chair or the Chair’s designee may, in his or her discretion, waive the 14-day requirement if the Chair or the Chair’s designee determines that the circumstances giving rise to the Request were not reasonably foreseeable and that the inquiry can be addressed in the time available.

Rule 202. Assignment to Panel; Composition of Panel.

 Every Request shall be assigned an identifying number. The Chair or the Chair’s designee will assign the Request to a three-member panel of the Board (‘‘Panel’’). At least one member of the Panel shall be a judicial officer from the same level of the judicial system as the inquiring judicial officer. If the inquiring judicial officer is a Justice of the Supreme Court, at least one member of the Panel shall be a judge of the Superior Court or Commonwealth Court.

Rule 203. Provisional Advice.

 The Panel shall issue its advisory opinion (‘‘Advice’’) in writing, which shall set forth the facts upon which the Advice is based. The Panel’s Advice is provisional until acted upon by the Board. The inquiring judicial officer shall be promptly notified of the Panel’s decision.

 If the Panel finds that the Request contains insufficient detail to enable the Panel to render Advice, the Panel may request supplemental information from the inquiring judicial officer. If supplemental information is not provided, or is insufficient, the Panel shall decline on that basis to render Advice, and the inquiring judicial officer shall be so notified.

 If the Panel determines that responding to the Request would not aid the judge, benefit the judiciary as a whole, or serve the public interest, the Panel may decline to render Advice, and the inquiring judicial officer shall be notified of the basis for the Panel’s determination.

Rule 204. Board Action and Publication of Opinions and Guidance.

 (a)  Review of Panel Advice. The Board shall review all Panel Advice as soon as practicable. The Board may adopt the Panel’s Advice as the opinion of the Board (‘‘Opinion’’), or may determine that the Advice should be modified or reversed by the Board. The inquiring judicial officer shall be promptly notified of the Board’s decision.

 (b)  Publication of Board Opinions. Opinions of the Board shall be published on an area of the Board’s web page available only to judicial officers, and shall be redacted to remove information that might tend to identify the inquiring judicial officer or any other person. The redacted Opinions shall be posted in searchable form, and shall be indexed by the relevant provisions of the applicable Code. The Board may exempt an Opinion from publication if the Board finds that the identity of the requester cannot be protected to the Board’s satisfaction through redaction.

 (c)  General Ethics Guidance. The Board may, in its discretion, issue general ethics advisory guidance (‘‘General Guidance’’) on relevant topics. Such General Guidance may be published on a public area of the Board’s web page.

Rule 205. Informational Discussions.

 Board members and Board staff may engage in informal or informational discussions in response to inquiries from judicial officers.

Rule 206. Rules of Reliance.

 (a)  Where a judicial officer complies with Advice that is subsequently adopted as a Board Opinion, such compliance shall be entitled to substantial weight in determining whether discipline should be recommended or imposed.

 (b)  Where a judicial officer complies with Advice that is subsequently reversed or modified by the Board, compliance prior to the time the judicial officer is notified of the Board’s action shall be taken into account in determining whether discipline should be recommended or imposed.

 (c)  Where a judicial officer complies with General Guidance, such compliance may be taken into account in determining whether discipline should be recommended or imposed.

 (d)  Informal or informational discussions with Board members or Board staff shall not be afforded consideration in determining whether discipline should be recommended or imposed.

Rule 207. Reconsideration.

 The inquiring judicial officer may submit a written request for reconsideration within twenty days of the date of the Board’s Opinion adopting, modifying or reversing the provisional Advice. A request for reconsideration shall not alter the effect of the Board’s decision unless the Opinion is withdrawn or modified by the Board.

Rule 208. Records of Board Proceedings.

 Subject to the requirement of confidentiality set forth in these rules, the Board shall retain records of all Requests, Advice, and unredacted Opinions for an appropriate period of time, no less than ten years, to be determined by the Board in regulations.


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