Court to decide whether to relax judicial ethics

Sunday, Sept. 12, 1999 | 3:59 a.m.

The legal community is split over a proposed amendment to Nevada's rules of judicial ethics that would allow judges to solicit money for more causes.

Under current rules, judges can only raise funds for limited causes, such as improving a law library or refurbishing a courthouse.

Washoe District Judge Brent Adams opposes the proposed change, saying it would allow judges to solicit donations from lawyers appearing before them for charities.

If the rules are relaxed, Nevada would be the only state in the nation to do so, he said.

"That is inherently coercive and in my view a misuse of judicial office," Adams said. "The public is absolutely fed up with politicans begging for money 24 hours a day."

Six rural Nevada judges touched off the debate over the issue last year when their names appeared on invitations for Carson City's annual Cow County Ball, which raises money for legal assistance for the poor.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline sent the judges a letter saying they were wrong to lend their names to the $30 per person event.

Nineteen judges from Reno to Las Vegas challenged the commission's position and asked the Supreme Court to amend the rules to allow their support for such causes.

Carson District Judge Michael Griffin supports the rule change, saying he sees no distinction between raising money for law libraries and indigent legal assistance.

"If judges don't get involved in things like building juvenile facilities, they'll never get built," he said.

The Supreme Court can change the rules or leave them as they are. The court is expected to issue a written opinion on the issue later.

If it decides to change the rules, the court will face the task of defining suitable fund-raising causes for judges.

The court also would have to consider how to avoid the appearance that judges are leaning on lawyers who appear before them to make donations.

"It's important that no party feel any pressure to contribute to anything because a judge makes the request," Adams said.

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