Frequently asked questions  

What is the Center for Judicial Ethics?
The Center for Judicial Ethics (part of the American Judicature Society) is a national clearinghouse for information about judicial ethics and discipline established in 1977.

Can I complain to the Center for Judicial Ethics about a judge?
As a private organization, the Center does not have the authority to investigate complaints, give legal advice, discipline judges, file or assist in filing complaints against judges, or act as an advocate for someone filing a complaint. It does not represent individuals nor does it have information about attorneys.

How can I complain about a judge?
Each of the 50 states has established a judicial conduct organization charged with investigating complaints against judicial officers. The Center Web site has a directory of judicial conduct commissions with links to their Web sites at www.ajs.org/ethics.

What does the Center do?
The Center provides research support for the over 40 state judicial conduct commissions that subscribe to its services. The Center responds to over 250 requests a year for information from conduct commissions, advisory committees, legislatures, judges, legal scholars, courts, lawyers, and reporters. The Center has submitted substantial comments to the ABA Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct in its current revision of the model code. The Center maintains a Web site (www.ajs.org/ethics) that includes a directory of judicial conduct organizations (with links to their Web sites) and links to the Web sites of judicial ethics advisory committee.

What are the Center’s educational activities?
Each week, the Center posts on its site a “Judicial Ethics News” story about a recent development in judicial ethics or discipline. The Center conducts a biennial National College on Judicial Conduct and Ethics to provide a forum for commission members, staff, judges, and judicial educators to meet and exchange experiences and to discuss solutions to their common problems. Center staff participates in educational conferences for courts, judges’ associations, and court administrators on a variety of judicial ethics topics, such as recent developments in judicial discipline and disqualification.

Does the Center have any publications?
The Center publishes numerous works on judicial ethics and discipline including the Judicial Conduct Reporter, a quarterly; Key Issues in Judicial Ethics; A Study of State Judicial Discipline Sanctions; Ethics Guide for Judges and Their Families; Ethical Standards for Judges; Ethical Standards for Judges; and How Judicial Conduct Commissions Work.