I’m doing some work for the Georgia judiciary’s CLE, and am putting together various materials. Below is a draft table reflecting the current state of the law on whether (a) a judge can use Facebook; (b) if so, can he be friends with any (if he does, he must disclose or recuse; (c) can he be friends with those who will appear regularly before him (if so, he must disclose or recuse. The chart reflects disagreement; what is truly fascinating are the rationales and the limitations, which I’m still digesting…
| Proper to use | Friend any lawyers (or recuse if judge does) | Friend if judge knows lawyer likely to appear? | Notes | ||||
|
|
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
| NY[1] | X | X | X | Judge may need to disclose relationship and recuse if it’s a close social relationship. | |||
| SC[2] | X | X | X | Warns not to discuss anything related to judge’s position. | |||
| FL[3] | X | X | X | Putting a ‘disclaimer’ on the page that ‘friend’ doesn’t mean ‘friend.’[4] However, a judge may belong to a non-legal group’s Facebook page of an organization (hobby, e.g.) that lawyers who appear before him participate in.[5] Further, a candidate may friend lawyers who, if the person is elected, will appear before him.[6] | |||
| KY[7] | X | X | X | Warns use is “fraught with peril.” | |||
| CA[8] | X | X | X | Imposes various limitations | |||
| OH[9] | X | X | X | Judge must be constantly vigilant | |||
| OK[10] | X | X | X | Fraught with peril. | |||
| MA[11] | X | X | X | ||||
| TN[12] | X | Judges must be constantly aware of ethics issues. | |||||
| ABA[13] | X | X | X | Must carefully evaluate whether disclosure required, or recusal. | |||
| CT[14] | X | X | X | Gives 11 limitations on use. | |||
[1] N.Y. Op. 08-176 (Jan. 29, 2009).
[2] S.C. Advisory Comm. on Judicial Conduct Op. No. 17-2009 (Oct. 2009).
[3] Fl. S. Ct. Judicial Eth. Advisory Comm. Op. No. 2009-20 (Nov. 17, 2009). See also Fl. S. Ct. Judicial Eth. Advisory Comm. Op. No. 2012-12 (May 9, 2012).
[4] Fl. S. Ct. Judicial Eth. Advisory Comm. Op. No. 2010-06 (March 26, 2010).
[5] Fl. S. Ct. Judicial Eth. Advisory Comm. Op. No. 2010-06 (March 26, 2010).
[6] Fl. S. Ct. Judicial Eth. Advisory Comm. Op. No. 2010-05 (March 19, 2010). For restrictions on campaigns, see Fl. S. Ct. Judicial Eth. Advisory Comm. Op. No. 2010-28 (July 23, 2010).
[7] K.Y. Formal Jud. Ethics Op. No. JE-119 (Jan. 20, 2010).
[8] Cal. Judges Ass’n Jud. Ethics Comm. Op. No. 66 (Nov. 23, 2010).
[9] S.Ct. Ohio Bd. of Comm’rs on Grievances & Disc. Op. No. 2010-7 (Dec. 3, 2010).
[10] Ok. Jud. Eth. Advisory Panel Jud. Eth. Op. 2011-3 (July 6, 2011).
[11] Mass. Jud. Eth. Op. No. 2011-6 (Dec. 28, 2011).
[12] Tenn. Jud. Eth. Comm. Advisory Op. No. 12-01 (Oct. 23, 2012).
[13] ABA Formal Op. No. 462 (Feb. 21, 2013).
[14] Conn. Comm. on Jud. Ethics Informal Op. No. 2013-06 (March 22, 2013).