Title 207—JUDICIAL CONDUCT PART II. CONDUCT STANDARDS [ 207 PA. CODE CH. 33 ] Amendment of Rule 2.11 of the Code of Judicial Conduct; No. 425 Judicial Administration Doc. [44 Pa.B. 4338]
[Saturday, July 12, 2014]Order Per Curiam
And Now, this 23rd day of June, 2014, It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 2.11 of the Code of Judicial Conduct of 2014 is amended in the following form.
To the extent that notice of proposed rulemaking would otherwise be required by Pa.R.J.A. No. 103, the immediate promulgation of the Code of Judicial Conduct of 2014 is found to be in the interests of justice and efficient administration.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective on July 1, 2014.
Annex A TITLE 207. JUDICIAL CONDUCT PART II. CONDUCT STANDARDS CHAPTER 33. CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT Subchapter A. CANONS Canon 2. A judge shall perform the duties of judicial office impartially, competently, and diligently.
Rule 2.11. Disqualification.
* * * * * Comment: * * * * * (5) A judge should disclose on the record information that the judge believes the parties or their lawyers might reasonably consider relevant to a possible motion for disqualification, even if the judge believes there is no basis for disqualification.
(6) Rule 2.11(A)(4) represents a first inroad into complex issues associated with the financing of judicial campaigns in the scheme prescribed by the Pennsylvania Constitution, per which judicial officers are elected by the citizenry. See Pa. Const. art. V, § 13. For example, the rule presently does not address a number of circumstances which have arisen in the context of public judicial elections, including the involvement of political action committees (''PACs''). Under the direction of an independent board of directors, such entities may aggregate then distribute individual contributions among judicial campaigns, political campaigns, their own operating expenses, and other expenditures. There is no attempt, under the present rule, to require disqualification on account of individual contributions made to a PAC, so long as the organization does not serve as the alter-ego of a specific donor or donors. Rulemaking, in this regard, would require further study and deliberation in order to appropriately balance all respective interests involved. Thus, the Court has reserved any treatment to a later time.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 14-1418. Filed for public inspection July 11, 2014, 9:00 a.m.]
