Opinion No. 99-2
January 12, 1999
TOPIC: Judge serving on elected public school board
DIGEST: A judge may not serve out the remainder of his or her term as a member of an elected public school board after being appointed as associate judge.
REFERENCES: Illinois Supreme Court Rules 65B and 65G; Illinois Constitution, Article VI, Section 13; Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion Nos. 95-11, 96-7, 96-21, 97-6 and 98-16.
FACTS
Before being appointed as an associate judge, s/he was elected to a four year term on the public school board in his/her local community. S/he does discuss and vote on various issues brought before the board but does not offer legal advice. It is unlikely that the school board would be involved in any cases before the court and s/he would not be involved in any fund raising.
QUESTION
May the judge remain on the school board for the remainder of his or her term?
OPINION
No. S/he is required to resign within a reasonable time after being sworn in as a judge. Rule 65G states that a judge should not accept appointment to a governmental committee, commission or other position that is concerned with issues of fact or policy on matters other than the improvement of the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice... The fact that the judge is not "accepting an appointment" to the board but is just serving out his/her term, should not make a difference.
IJEC Opinion No. 97-6 permits a judge to be a member of a not for profit corporation that is organized for the sole purpose of financially supporting various educational programs of a school district that may need additional financial assistance. This is allowed under Rule 65B which permits a judge to be an officer of a not for profit organization.
On the other hand, IJEC Opinion No. 96-21 held that a judge may not accept appointment to a citizens advisory council of his/her local school district. IJEC felt that this committee was more like a governmental committee that was barred by Rule 65G than the ordinary not for profit organization permitted under Rule 65B.
IJEC Opinion No. 96-7 permits a judge to be on his/her parish school board even though s/he is elected to the position by members of his parish. This was still a non-governmental organization and, therefore, permitted.
Similarly, IJEC Opinion No. 95-11 permitted a judge to be on the board of an organization that trains guardian ad litems creating a pool of guardians from which the court may choose guardians for the various cases before it. This is authorized by Rule 64C which permits a judge to serve on the board of an organization devoted to the improvement of the law and the administration of justice.
Perhaps most significantly, Article VI, Section 13, "Prohibited Activities", of the Illinois State Constitution of 1970 provides that Judges and Associate Judges "shall not practice law, hold a position for profit, hold office under the United States or this State or unit of local government or school district or in a political party." Thus, under the Illinois State Constitution and the Supreme Court Rules, once appointed as an associate judge, a judge may not serve out the remainder of the judge's elected term as a public school board member. (See IJEC Opinion No. 98-16 which states that a judge cannot serve as a deputy Voter Registrar.)
Continuing to hold a position that is prohibited by the State Constitution would also amount to a violation of Rule 62A, which requires that judges respect and comply with the law.
