Article 6p. 6

LEGAL AND JUDICIAL ETHICS CODES, CANONS AND RULES

(now of the Supreme Court), including municipal judges

and city judges:

1. Relations of the judiciary

The assumption of the office of judge casts upon the

incumbent duties in respect to his personal conduct

which

concern

his

relation

to

the

State

and

its

inhabitants, the litigants before him, the principles of law,

the practitioners of law in his court, and the witnesses

and attendants who aid him in the administration of its

functions.

2. The public interest

The courts exist to promote justice; and thus to aid in

securing the contentment and happiness of the people.

Their administration should be speedy and careful. Every

judge should at all times be alert in his rulings and in the

conduct of the business of his court, so far as he can, to

make it useful to litigants and to the community. He

should avoid unconsciously falling into the attitude of

mind that the litigants are made for the courts instead of

the courts for the litigants.

3. Avoidance of appearance of impropriety

A

judge's

official conduct should be free from the

appearance of impropriety, and his personal behavior, not

only upon the bench and in the performance of judicial

duties, but also in his everyday life, should be beyond

reproach.

4. Essential conduct

He should be temperate, patient, attentive, impartial, and,

since he is to administer the law and apply it to the facts,

he should be studious of the principles of the law, diligent

in endeavoring to ascertain the facts.

5. Industry

He

should

exhibit

an

industry

and

application

commensurate with the duties imposed upon him.

6. Promptness

He

should

be

prompt

in

disposing

of

all

matters

submitted to him, remembering that justice delayed is

often justice denied.

7. Punctuality

He should be punctual in the performance of his judicial

duties, recognizing that the time of litigants, witnesses,

and

attorneys

is

of

value and that if the judge is

unpunctual in his habits he sets a bad example to the bar

and

tends

to

create

dissatisfaction

with

the

administration of justice.

8. Court organization

He should organize his court with a view to prompt and

convenient dispatch of its business and he should not

tolerate abuses and neglect by clerks, sheriffs, and other

assistants who are sometimes prone to presume too

much upon his good-natured acquiescence by reason of

friendly association with him.

9. Consideration for witnesses and others

He should be considerate of witnesses and others in

attendance upon his court.

10. Courtesy and civility

Judges should be courteous to counsel, especially to

those who are young and inexperienced, and also to all

others concerned in the administration of justice in their

courts.

They should also require, and, as far as their power

extends, enforce on the part of clerks, court officers and

counsel civility and courtesy to witnesses, litigants and

others having business with the court.

11. Appointments of the judiciary and their compensation

Trustees,

receivers,

masters,

referees,

guardians,

and

administrators

appointed

by

a

judge

to

aid in the

administration of justice under his supervision should

have the strictest probity and impartiality and should be

selected

with

a

view

solely

to

their

character

and

competency. Patronage of a judge is conferred by him for

no personal or partisan advantage. A judge should not

permit his appointments to be controlled by others than

himself, and he should avoid the allowance of excessive

compensation to the appointees. He should also avoid

nepotism in his appointments.

12. Kinship or influence of parties and counsel

A judge should not, unless it is unavoidable, sit in

litigation where a near relative is a party or of counsel;

and he should not suffer his conduct to create the

impression that any person can unduly influence him or

enjoy his favor, or that he is affected by the rank, position,

or influence of any party.

13. Independence

A

judge

should

not be swayed by public claim or

considerations of personal popularity.

14. Interference to conduct of trial

While a judge may properly intervene in a trial of a case to

promote expedition and prevent unnecessary waste of

time, or to clear up some obscurity, nevertheless, he

should

bear

in

mind

that

his

undue

interference,

impatience,

or

participation

in

the

examination

of

witnesses,

or

a

severe

attitude

on

his

part toward

witnesses, especially those who are excited or terrified by

the unusual circumstances of trial, may tend to prevent

the

proper

presentation

of

the

cause,

or

the

ascertainment of the truth in respect thereto.

Conversation between the judge and counsel in court is

often necessary, but the judge should be studious to

avoid controversies which are apt to obscure the merits of

the dispute between litigants and lead to its unjust

disposition. In addressing counsel, litigants, or witnesses,

he should avoid a controversial tone.

He

should

avoid

interruptions

of

counsel

in

their

arguments except to clarify his mind as to their positions,

and he should not be tempted to an unnecessary display

of learning or a premature judgment.

15. Ex parte applications

Judges

should

discourage

ex

parte

hearing

of

applications for injunctions and receivership where the

order may work detriment to absent parties; they should

act upon ex parte applications only where the necessity

for quick action is clearly shown; if this be demonstrated,

then the judge should endeavor to counteract the effect

of the absence of opposing counsel by a scrupulous

cross-examination and investigation as to the facts and

the principles of law upon which the application is based,

granting relief only when fully satisfied that the law

permits it and the emergency demands it. The judge

should remember that an injunction is a limitation upon

the freedom of action of defendants and should not be

granted lightly or inadvisedly. one applying for such relief

must sustain the burden of showing clearly its necessity

and this burden is increased in the absence of the party

whose freedom of action is to be restrained even though

only temporarily.

16. Continuances

Delay in the administration of justice is a common cause

of complaint; counsel are frequently responsible for this

delay. Judges, without being arbitrary or forcing cases

unreasonably or unjustly to trial when unprepared, to the

detriment of parties, may well endeavor to hold counsel

to a proper appreciation of their duties to the public to

their own clients, and to the adverse party and his

counsel, so as to enforce due diligence in the dispatch of

business before the court.

17. Judicial opinions

In disposing of controverted cases, judges should indicate

the reasons for their action in opinions showing that they

have not disregarded or overlooked serious arguments of

counsel. They should show their full understanding of the

case, avoid the suspicion of arbitrary conclusion, promote

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