1999-07: Judge Leading College Alumni Scholarship Fund Drive 

DISCLAIMER:  This Opinion interprets the 1993 Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, which was superseded on January 1, 2023, by the 2023 Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct.  This Opinion does not consider or address whether the 2023 Code affects the analysis or conclusion of the Opinion.  A table cross-referencing the 1993 Code to the 2023 Code can be found at  IJEC CORRELATION TABLE.

IJEC Opinion No. 1999-07

April 14, 1999

TOPIC

Judge leading college alumni scholarship fund drive.

DIGEST

A judge may not lead a college alumni fund drive for scholarships for students interested in attending law school.

REFERENCES

Illinois Supreme Court Rules 65B and 64C; Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion Nos. 95-22, 96-3 and 99-5.

FACTS

A judge has been asked to spearhead a college alumni group to fund a scholarship foundation in honor of a distinguished judge. The scholarship fund would be administered by the college for students who express an interest in attending law school.

QUESTION

May the judge lead the college alumni scholarship foundation fund drive?

OPINION

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 64C states:

A judge may serve as a member, officer, or director of an organization or governmental agency devoted to the improvement of the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice. He or she may assist such an organization in raising funds and may participate in their management and investment, but should not personally participate in public fundraising activities.

Rule 65 B states:

A judge may participate in civic and charitable activities that do not reflect adversely upon the judge's impartiality or interfere with the performance of the judge's judicial duties. A judge may serve as an officer, director, trustee, or nonlegal advisor of an educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization not conducted for the economic or political advantage of its members, subject to the following limitations:

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(2) A judge should not solicit or permit his or her name to be used in any manner to solicit funds or other assistance for any such organization. A judge should not allow his or her name to appear on the letterhead of any such organization where the stationary [sic] is used to solicit funds...

These two Rules establish clearly that the judge may not participate publicly in any manner in the solicitation of funds for the college scholarship fund, regardless of the laudatory purpose of the fund. The Committee previously addressed the parameters of judicial charitable fundraising in opinions dealing with a judge serving on the board of the charitable arm of the state bar association (IJEC Opinion No. 95-22) and a judge speaking or even introducing the speaker at a fundraiser for a university scholarship fund (IJEC Opinion No. 96-3). The proposed activity would clearly be in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. See also, Illinois Judicial Ethics Opinion No. 99-5 (use of a judge's name as one of several honorees on invitation to a high school benefit improper).

CONCLUSION

It would be impermissible for a judge to spearhead a college alumni group to fund a scholarship foundation, even if the purpose was to honor a distinguished jurist and provide scholarships for students interested in attending law school.