Opinion 99-5
April 14, 1999
TOPIC: Use of a judge's name as one of several honorees on invitation to high school benefit.
DIGEST: A judge may not permit his or her name to be used in any manner to solicit funds for a charitable fund-raising event. A judge may not be a guest of honor at any organization's fund-raising event, but may attend such an event.
REFERENCES: Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B(2); Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Opinion No. 96-3.
FACTS
A judge serves as a member of the board of directors of a high school. An invitation to a benefit for the high school includes the judge as one of several honorees receiving awards at the benefit. All proceeds will support the high school. The judge's name appears inside the invitation as one of several honorees receiving an award.
Several months before this particular invitation was printed, the judge in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, requested the high school in writing to remove the judge's name from any stationery noting, "I can no longer be involved in fund-raising activities."
QUESTIONS
When a judge who serves as a member of a board of directors for a high school is honored with an award at a benefit for that high school, may the name of the judge as one of several honorees be included on the invitation?
Does the use of the judge's name as one of several honorees included on the invitation to the high school benefit violate Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B(2)?
May a judge be a guest of honor at a high school benefit?
OPINIONS
The question is whether the use of the judge's name on the invitation can be interpreted as directly involving the judge's name in the solicitation of funds and thereby violating Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B(2). This situation raises the additional problem of whether Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B(2) is violated by the judge appearing as a guest of honor and receiving an award at the high school benefit.
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 65B(2) provides as follows:
Civic and Charitable Activities. 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:
* * *
(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... A judge should not be a speaker or the guest of honor at any organization's fund raising events, but he or she may attend such events.
The placement of the judge's name on the inside of the invitation to the benefit, together with the names of other honorees receiving awards does seem to directly involve the judge's name in the solicitation of funds for the high school. Additionally, the judge is clearly a guest of honor receiving an award at this benefit. The benefit is a fund-raising event and appearing as a guest of honor at such an event is prohibited.
The Committee has previously opined that a judge is restricted from allowing the use of his or her name in a manner which assists fund-raising including having his or her name on the invitation or being a speaker or guest of honor. However, attendance at such an event is permissible. See IJEC Opinion No. 96-3.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the Rule seems to prohibit both the use of the judge's name on the invitation to solicit funds and the appearance of the judge as a guest of honor. However, the judge may continue to serve as a member of the board of directors and the judge may attend fund-raising events for the high school as long as these activities do not interfere with the performance of the judge's duties.
