Can a lawyer who represented a police union in salary talks with a town then become the municipal court judge in that same town?

Plain-English summary

The Committee was asked whether it is ethical for an attorney who had represented a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and its members in salary negotiations with a municipality to serve as judge of the municipal court in that same municipality. The inquirer noted that in most cases coming before such a judge, the police officers he had recently dealt with as the association's negotiator and personal representative would appear.

The Committee observed that the selection of a municipal court judge is a matter solely within the discretion of the municipality's governing body. It acknowledged that the judge's close former relationship to police officers frequently appearing before him might require him to disqualify himself in particular instances, but stated that this is not a matter for determination by the Committee at this time. The Committee thus declined to opine on the disqualification question and did not bar the appointment.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1972, before New Jersey's adoption of the 2004 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct, and predates the 1984 replacement of the Disciplinary Rules by the RPCs. Questions about a former advocate sitting as judge are now addressed through the Code of Judicial Conduct and RPC 1.12, with disqualification governed by judicial-conduct standards. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the Committee say the lawyer could become the judge?

A: It did not bar it. The Committee said the selection of a municipal judge is solely the governing body's discretion and declined to decide the disqualification question.

Q: What about cases where the officers he negotiated for appear before him?

A: The Committee acknowledged the former relationship might require the judge to disqualify himself in particular instances, but said that was not a matter for the Committee to determine at that time.

Background and rules framework

The opinion treated the question as one of judicial selection and case-by-case disqualification rather than a lawyer-conduct prohibition, and expressly declined to resolve the disqualification issue. In current New Jersey terms, a former advocate's service and recusal as a judge are addressed under the Code of Judicial Conduct and RPC 1.12.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• The opinion cites no specific Disciplinary Rule; it rests on the governing body's discretion over judicial selection and the prospect of case-by-case judicial disqualification. The successor framework is the Code of Judicial Conduct and MR 1.12 / NJ RPC 1.12.

See also

• NJ ACPE Op. 315: A Municipal Judge's Associate as a Lay Member of a Municipal Board
• NJ ACPE Op. 260: A Police-Union Lawyer Appearing in Criminal Court

Source

• Full text (Justia mirror): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/advisory-committee-on-professional-ethics/2004/acp232-1.html
• Issuing authority: New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics, via the NJ Courts Supreme Court Committees page

Original opinion text

Reproduced from a full-text mirror of the official opinion for research purposes. The linked official source controls.

95 N.J.L.J. 206, March 9, 1972

OPINION 232

Conflict of Interest P.B.A. Attorney Becoming Municipal Judge

We have been asked whether it is ethical for an attorney who has previously represented a Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and its members in a particular municipality in salary negotiations with the municipality, to serve as Judge of the Municipal Court in the same municipality. The attorney making the inquiry suggests that in the great majority of cases which may come before a municipal court judge, there will be appearances by the police officers with whom he has recently been dealing through their association as a negotiator and personal representative.

Obviously, the selection of a municipal court judge is a matter solely in the discretion of the governing body of the municipality. It may very well be that the close former relationship of the judge to police officers frequently appearing before him might require the judge to disqualify himself in particular instances, but this is not a matter for determination by this Committee at this time.