261 P.3d 1185 (Okla.Jud.Eth. 2011), 2011-3, In re Judicial Ethics Opinion 2011-3
Docket Nº: | 2011-3. |
Citation: | 261 P.3d 1185, 2011 OK JUD ETH 3 |
Party Name: | JUDICIAL ETHICS OPINION 2011-3. |
Case Date: | July 06, 2011 |
Court: | Oklahoma Judicial Ethics Advisory Panel |
Page 1185
Editorial Note:
The Opinions of the Ethics Advisory Panel are advisory only and can be relied by the Council on Judicial Complaints while recommending discipline of a Judge or a Judicial Candidate and not binding on the Council or Courts in the exercise of their judicial discipline responsibilities.
JUDICIAL ETHICS ADVISORY PANEL
¶ 1 Questions: 1. May a Judge hold an internet social account, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin without violating the Code of Judicial Conduct?
¶ 2 2. May a Judge who owns an internet based social media account add court staff, law enforcement officers, social workers, attorneys and others who may appear in his or her court as " friends" on the account?
¶ 3 Answers: Question 1— Yes, with restrictions.
¶ 4 Question 2— No.
¶ 5 Discussion: The explosion in the use of social networking accounts has resulted in inquiries, such as we address in this opinion to Judicial Ethics Advisory Panels in several states, and the use of such accounts resulted in sanctions being imposed for improper use in some instances. We have reviewed opinions from New York, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio and reports of disciplinary
Page 1186
actions in North Carolina and Georgia.
¶ 6 The common theme of the opinions rendered in other states deals with the conflict that may arise between the use of the social network and the duty of the Judge, found in all the Codes of Judicial Conduct, that is the duty of the Judge to maintain the dignity of judicial office at all times, and avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives, and to ensure the greatest public confidence in their independence, impartiality, integrity and competence. See Preamble of Oklahoma Code of Judicial Conduct (2), Canon 1, Rule 1, 2, etc. The test for appearance of impropriety is whether the conduct would create in reasonable minds a perception that the Judge violated this code or engaged in other conduct that reflects adversely on the Judge's honesty, impartiality, temperament, or fitness to serve as a Judge. Canon 1, Rule 214(C), " A Judge shall not convey or permit others to convey the impression that any person or organization is in a...
To continue reading
FREE SIGN UPGood news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.

There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
There are many other reasons to subscribe.
-
Global Coverage
Access over 120 million legal information documents, including the largest collection of common law and civil law content on one intuitive and advanced service.
-
Updated with over 20,000 cases each month
Each month thousands of new cases and legal documents are added to vLex Justis, providing you with up-to-date content and a wider range of information to support your research.
-
AI-powered research
Are you confident your research is complete? Use our AI-powered tool, Vincent, to conduct truly comprehensive research, based on in-document search and analysis.
-
Know where to start your research
The only service to feature exclusive, comprehensive and up-to-date legal information from 130 jurisdictions. This includes the largest collections of common and civil law judgments, exclusive law reports, legislation, regulations, dockets, books, journals and international news.
Good news, we have found a currently active account with this email!
You can sign in here.
Forgot your password?
To reset your password, you can go here.
A verification link has been sent to your email account!
Please click on the link that has been sent to your email account to verify your email and continue the registration process.
We have found that your academic organisation currently subscribes to vLex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
We have found that your organisation currently subscribes to vlex.
To receive access to vLex:
- Use the following link to sign up from your portal.
- Please contact your resource manager to setup an account.
- If you have an email address with the organisation, please use that.
OR
You can signup for an individual account here.