THE COURTS
PART II. CONDUCT STANDARDS
[ 207 PA. CODE CH. 51 ]
Amendment of Rule 15 of the Rules of Conduct for Magisterial District Judges; Magisterial Doc. No. 1; No. 246
[38 Pa.B. 4353]
[Saturday, August 9, 2008]
Order Per Curiam:
And Now, this 22nd day of July, 2008, upon recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee, the proposal having been submitted without publication pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(a)(3) in the interest of justice and efficient administration, and a Final Report to be published with this Order:
It Is Ordered pursuant to Article V, Section 10 of the Constitution of Pennsylvania that Rule 15 of the Rules of Conduct for Magisterial District Judges be, and hereby is, amended to read as follows.
This Order shall be processed in accordance with Pa.R.J.A. No. 103(b), and shall be effective immediately.
WILLIAM H. LAUB,
President Judge
Annex A
TITLE 207. JUDICIAL CONDUCT
PART II. CONDUCT STANDARDS
CHAPTER 51. STANDARDS OF CONDUCT OF MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES
PENNSYLVANIA RULES FOR MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES Rule 15. Public Office and Political Activity.
* * * * * D. With respect to their campaign conduct, magisterial district judges or candidates for such office shall:
* * * * * (3) not make pledges or promises of conduct in office other than the faithful and impartial performance of the duties of the office; make statements that commit [or appear to commit] the candidate with respect to cases, controversies or issues that are likely to come before the court; or misrepresent their identity, qualifications, present position, or other fact.
* * * * *
FINAL REPORT
Amendment to Rule 15 of the Rules of Conduct for Magisterial District Judges On July 22, 2008, effective immediately, upon recommendation of the Minor Court Rules Committee,1 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania approved an amendment to Rule 15 of the Rules of Conduct for Magisterial District Judges.2
I. Background
On March 17, 2008, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued an Order amending Canon 7 B(1)(c) of the Code of Judicial Conduct.3 The Order deleted the phrase ''or appear to commit'' from Canon 7B(1)(c). Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. No. 15 is modeled, in part, upon Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Therefore, in order to maintain consistency between the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Conduct for Magisterial District Judges, the Minor Court Rules Committee (''Committee'') agreed that an immediate amendment to Rule 15 was advisable.
II. Discussion and Approved Rule Change
Although the commentary following M.D.J. No. 15 D(3) cites to Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 122 S.Ct. 2528 (2002), the Committee felt that because of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's removal of the clause ''appear to commit'' from Canon 7, similar action was needed in the Rules of Conduct. Republican Party of Minnesota v. White was a United States Supreme Court decision that found Minnesota's limits on judicial campaign speech unconstitutional. The commentary including the citation to White was added to Rule 15D(3) in November 2002.4 At the same time, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania removed language from Rule 15D(3), replacing it with the current language - ''make statements that commit or appear to commit the candidate . . .'' 5
Despite the fact that the inclusion of a reference to White in the Rules of Conduct provides some guidance for magisterial district judges about their ability to comment on issues during political races, the Committee agreed that the language ''or appear to commit'' must be removed from Rule 15D(3) due to its corresponding removal from Canon 7. Therefore, the Committee recommended removal of that phrase.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 08-1453. Filed for public inspection August 8, 2008, 9:00 a.m.] _______
1 Minor Court Rules Committee Recommendation 7-2008.
2 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 246, Magisterial Docket No. 1, (July 22, 2008).
3 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 317, Judicial Administration Docket No. 1 (March 17, 2008).
4 Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Order No. 137, Magisterial Docket No. 1, Book 2 (Nov. 21, 2002).
5 The Court removed the phrase ''announce his views on disputed legal or political issues.'' See Order No. 137, Magisterial Docket No. 1, Book 2 (Nov. 21, 2002).
No part of the information on this site may be reproduced for profit or sold for profit.This material has been drawn directly from the official Pennsylvania Bulletin full text database. Due to the limitations of HTML or differences in display capabilities of different browsers, this version may differ slightly from the official printed version.
