Ethics is one of the judicial education topics I occasionally teach but, as president of the Wisconsin Municipal Judges Association, my role was different when I recently welcomed nearly two dozen new judges at the beginning of “judge camp.” There I gave the “newbies” the following 60 second judicial ethics challenge to avoid judicial discipline:
- Be Polite
- Be careful what you say in court, online, in writing and on social media.
- Treat your staff with professionalism and respect.
- Obey The Law
- Honest mistakes of law usually aren’t cause for judicial discipline but willful or repeated violations could be.
- Use Common Sense
- And Should You Mess Up, Fess Up – Promptly