Opinion No. 96-11

July 16, 1996

TOPIC: Teaching nonlegal subjects.

DIGEST: The judge may teach the class and may accept an honorarium or tuition waiver. Martial arts instruction is a permitted activity per Rule 65A. The timing of the class is also permissible under Rule 65A. Per Rule 66A, the judge may accept a reasonable honorarium of up to $3000 every six months. The judge may accept tuition waiver per the terms of Rule 65C(4)(b).

REFERENCES: Illinois Supreme Court Rule 64A of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 4 (145 Ill.2d R. 64); Illinois Supreme Court Rules 65A and 65C(4)(b) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 5 (145 Ill.2d R. 65); Illinois Supreme Court Rule 66A of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 6 (145 Ill.2d R. 66); Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion No. 95-18.

FACTS

The judge, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, has been asked to teach an early morning martial arts class. The class lasts one hour and begins at 6:00 a.m. each day. The judge may be provided with a small honorarium for teaching the class, or he or she may be given a waiver of tuition for his or her own study of Tae Kwon Do.

QUESTIONS

1) May the judge teach a Tae Kwon Do class from 6:00 -

7:00 a.m. each day?

2) If so, may the judge accept an honorarium or tuition waiver?

OPINIONS

Martial arts instruction is a permitted avocational activity within the meaning of Rule 65A. Specifically, Rule 65A permits judges to teach nonlegal subjects, and also to engage in sports, so long as the activities do not "detract from the dignity of the judge's office or interfere with the performance of the judge's judicial duties." Tae Kwon Do instruction will not detract from the dignity of the judicial office. Neither will teaching the course interfere with the performance of judicial duties, since it will conclude each morning well before the court day begins.

A different timing limitation for teaching is found in Rule 64A. Under Rule 64, a judge may not teach a law-related course that begins earlier than 5:30 p.m. This committee has previously taken the position that the "5:30 rule" does not apply strictly to conduct governed by Rule 65. See IJEC Opinion No. 95-18.

Under Rule 66, a judge may accept a reasonable honorarium for permitted extrajudicial activities. This honorarium may not exceed "what a person who is not a judge would receive" and cannot be greater than $3000 in any six month period. Similarly, under Rule 65C(4)(b), a judge may accept a scholarship "awarded on the same terms applied to other applicants." We believe that a tuition waiver is the equivalent of such a scholarship.