1994-20: Judge on Victim Impact Panel 

DISCLAIMER:  This Opinion interprets the 1993 Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct, which was superseded on January 1, 2023, by the 2023 Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct.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. 1994-20

August 25, 1994

TOPIC

Judge serving on the board of a Victim Impact Panel for alcohol related offenders.

DIGEST

A judge may serve on the board of a not for profit Victim Impact Panel.

REFERENCES

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 64C of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 4 (145 Ill.2d R. 64); Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Canon 5 (145 Ill.2d R. 65).

FACTS

A judge who is regularly assigned to hear cases involving alcohol related offenders has been instrumental in establishing a Victim Impact Panel to which such offenders would be ordered to attend as a part of their sentence. Victim Impact Panels are panels of two or three individuals who have been victims or who have had family members or close friends be victims of alcohol related offenders, primarily those involved with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. As a part of the sentence, the offender is ordered to attend a panel with other offenders and is told the real life stories of the victims in the hope that it will change the offender's attitude and behavior regarding drinking and driving.

QUESTION

May a judge serve as a director of a board of a Victim Impact Panel?

OPINION

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 64C states that 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.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B(1), however, states that the judge may serve as an officer, director, trustee or nonlegal advisor of an educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization not organized for the economic or political advantage of its members, subject to the following limitations: (1) a judge should not service if it is likely that the organization will be engaged in proceedings that would ordinarily come before the judge or (2) the organization will be regularly engaged in adversary proceedings in any court.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B prohibits judges from serving on the board of organizations frequently involved in litigation.

It is clear that a Victim Impact Panel is an organization devoted to the improvement of the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice. There is no prohibition in Illinois Supreme Court Rule 64 from a judge being a member of the organization even if it is likely that the organization will be engaged in proceedings that would ordinarily come before the judge or will be regularly engaged in adversary proceedings in any court. The Canon 5B prohibition relates to extra-judicial civic and charitable activities.

It is also unlikely that board members of the Victim Impact Panel would ever be called to testify in any court proceeding or would be regularly engaged in adversary proceedings. The coordinator of the Victim Impact Panels may be required to testify as to the non-attendance of an individual, but regular board members would not. As such, even if the Canon 5B(1) prohibition applies, the judge may serve.