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Overview
An Associate Municipal Judge should not serve on the City's Grievance Committee.
Summary
Canon 4C(2) provides that a "judge shall not accept appointment to a governmental committee or commission or other governmental position that is concerned with issues of fact or policy on matters other than the improvement of law." The Commentary to this section further explains that this section:
prohibits a judge from accepting any governmental position except one relating to the law, legal system, or administration of justice....The appropriateness of accepting extra-judicial assignments must be assessed in light of the demands on judicial resources created by crowded dockets and the need to protect the courts from involvement in extra-judicial matters that may prove to be controversial.
Commentary, Canon 4.C(2).
Here, the Grievance Committee will address issues of fact that relate to the circumstances of any employee's performance and the sanctions issued by the supervisor. These issues do not relate to the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice. Furthermore, because the Grievance Committee makes recommendations on sensitive matters such as employee discipline (including termination of employees), service on the Committee could prove to be controversial. Thus, the Associate Municipal Judge should decline such service.