First Adopted: January 29, 1998
Most Recently Effective: January 01, 2012
Rule 2 | Canon 3 | A Judge Shall Conduct the Judge's Personal and Extrajudicial Activities to Minimize the Risk of Conflict with the Obligations of Judicial Office
2- 3. 3 | Testifying as a Character Witness
A judge shall not testify as a character witness in a judicial, administrative, or other adjudicatory proceeding, except when duly subpoenaed.
Comment
[1] A judge must not testify voluntarily as a character witness because to do so may lend the prestige of the judicial office in support of the party for whom the judge testifies. Moreover when a judge testifies as a witness, a lawyer who regularly appears before the judge may be placed in the awkward position of cross-examining the judge. A judge may, however, testify when properly subpoenaed. Except in unusual circumstances where the demands of justice require, a judge should discourage a party from requiring the judge to testify as a character witness.
[2] Testifying as to the qualifications of a judicial nominee at a confirmation hearing does not violate this Rule 2-3.3.
(Adopted January 29, 1998, effective January 1, 1999. Amended November 25, 2003, effective January 1, 2004; amended July 20, 2011, effective January 1, 2012.)