Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee Releases New Opinion: Judge’s Use of Photographs with Colleagues for Campaign Purposes
The Illinois Judicial Ethics Committee (IJEC), a joint committee of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, and the Illinois Judges Association, has issued a new opinion: 2021-4: Judge's Use of Photographs with Colleagues for Campaign Purposes.
A candidate-judge may use a photograph taken with non-candidate judicial colleagues for campaign purposes where the photograph was taken at a public event and does not suggest endorsement on the part of the candidate-judge’s colleagues.
The IJEC provide ethics advice to judges and judicial candidates. Among other things, the group issues advisory opinions that answer questions from judges about ethical issues. The group meets regularly, works prodigiously, and is composed of the finest minds in judicial ethics.
Issues faced by candidates for judicial election in Illinois are generally governed by the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct or the Illinois Election Code. The IJEC’s published opinions provide additional guidance regarding those issues.