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A Collection of Informative Materials for Judicial Officers

When Judges Speak: The Ethics of Judicial Communication & Outreach

Session Presentation (The Ethics of Judicial Communications and Outreach)
Session Presentation (Judicial Communication: The Do's and Don'ts)
3 pages | 79 kb

Materials submitted by Retired Florida Circuit Court Judge Karl Grube and Retired Rhode Island District Court Judge Robert Pirraglia. Presented at the 2010 Spring Judicial College Program, April 16, 2010.

In recent years, judges nationwide have been encouraged to outreach to the communities they serve so as to better educate and inform the public of how courts work and judges function and why. But many judges are concerned about the ethical implications of doing so. They wonder when they can speak and to whom, and they worry whether what they say both inside and outside the court room may be misperceived and give rise to the appearance of impropriety. This interactive program addressed these concerns and others through the presentation, discussion and solution of a number of real life ethical scenarios familiar to all judges.