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JUDICIAL ETHICS OPINION 2000-5.
¶ 0 QUESTION 1: If a municipal judge files for election to a non-judicial position, should the municipal judge first resign the judicial position?
WE ANSWER: YES.
¶ 1 Application of the Code of Judicial Conduct D:
“PERIODIC PART-TIME JUDGE. A periodic part-time judge is a municipal judge who serves on a continuing or periodic basis but is permitted by law to devote time to some other profession or occupation and whose compensation for that reason is less than that of a full-time judge.”
Canon 5A(2): “A judge should resign from judicial office upon becoming a candidate for a non-judicial office either in a primary or in a general election․”
¶ 2 Paragraph D under Application of the Code clearly defines a periodic part-time judge and leaves no doubt that this includes a municipal judge. Paragraph D lists numerous Canons with which a periodic part-time judge is not required to comply; however, Canon 5A(2), quoted above, is not one of them. A municipal judge upon filing for a non-judicial office must resign from his or her judicial position.
¶ 3 /s/ Robert L. Bailey
ROBERT L. BAILEY, Chairman
¶ 4 /s/ Robert A. Layden
ROBERT A. LAYDEN, Vice-Chairman
¶ 5 /s/ Milton C. Craig
MILTON C. CRAIG, Secretary
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Decided: August 23, 2000
Court: Judicial Ethics Advisory Panel of Oklahoma.
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