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A--General guidelines
1—Advisory opinion requests may be
made by a judicial official, which includes any judge, senior judge,
judge trial referee, family support magistrate and judicial or
family support magistrate nominee. See Policy and Rules of the
Committee (hereinafter, Policy & Rules) §§ 2.a, 4.a
2---Requests must relate to the
interpretation of rules of court relating to the ethical and
professional conduct of (a) the requesting judicial official, (b)
someone subject to the requesting judicial official’s direction and
control, (c) someone over whom the requesting judicial official
exercises supervisory responsibility, or (d) a spouse or relative of
the requesting judicial official. See Policy & Rules §§ 4.b, 5
3---Requests must pertain to
contemplated or proposed future or continuing conduct and must not
involve an issue that is presently pending before any court, agency,
or commission. Judicial officials must notify the Secretary (see
Paragraph B.1) immediately if the subject matter of the request
becomes the subject of any such proceeding while the request is
pending. See Policy & Rules § 4
4---Opinions are advisory only and
are not binding on the judicial official, the Judicial Review
Council, or any court. See Policy & Rules § 9
5--- Please consult the Policy &
Rules for further information.
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B-- Requesting an Informal Opinion
1—A judicial official may make a
request for an opinion by telephone to either Attorney Viviana L. Livesay or Attorney Adam P. Mauriello, by calling 860 706-5120.
2—The judicial official should
provide all relevant facts bearing on the question on which the
judicial official seeks advice. Include a statement that, to the
best of the information and belief of the judicial official
requesting the opinion, no issue raised thereby, whether in
reference to the judicial official or to any other person, is
presently pending before any court, agency or commission and, if it
relates to past or current conduct, such conduct relates to future
or continuing conduct. The Secretary may request additional
information for the sake of clarification if the Committee or the
Committee’s Chairperson so directs. See Policy & Rules § 4, 6
3—The Secretary will assign the
judicial official a reference number and will make arrangements for
further contact. This process is designed to provide confidentiality
to the maximum extent possible. When the request is forwarded to the
Committee, the Committee members will know only the opinion number.
The name of the requesting judicial official will not be identified
and the request will be presented without personal identifying
information. See Policy & Rules § 4.e
4—The Secretary will present the
request to the Committee promptly and the matter will be assigned by
the Committee to be considered at a meeting at the earliest time
possible consistent with the notice requirements. The Committee has
adopted an emergency opinion procedure for situations in which there
is insufficient time for standard notice.
5---The Secretary will telephone the
judicial official promptly with the Committee’s opinion. The
Secretary maintains a sequentially numbered record, by calendar
year, of requests for informal opinions and the responses thereto,
but does not include the name, reference number or personal
identifying information about judicial officials that have requested
an opinion from the Committee. When the Committee decides to publish
summaries of advisory opinions for general guidance purposes, no
personal identifying information will be included. See Policy &
Rules § 4.e
6---The judicial official may request
reconsideration of the opinion by the Committee within thirty days
by advising the Secretary of the reconsideration request and basis
for seeking reconsideration.
7---If the judicial official has
requested an informal opinion, the judicial official may, at any
time, request a formal opinion concerning the subject matter of the
informal opinion by submitting a request in writing that complies
with the requirements of section C, below. See Policy & Rules § 4.e
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C—Requesting a Formal Opinion
1---A judicial official may request a
formal opinion by sending a letter, signed by the judicial official,
directed to the Assistant Secretaries at the following address:
Attorney Viviana L. Livesay, Assistant Secretary
Attorney Adam P. Mauriello, Assistant Secretary
Judicial Ethics Committee
Superior Court Operations
100 Washington Street, 3rd floor
Hartford, CT 06106
2—The letter should include all
relevant facts bearing on the question on which the judicial
official seeks advice. The judicial official should include in the
letter an affirmation that, to the best of the information and
belief of the judicial official requesting the opinion, no issue
raised thereby, whether in reference to the judicial official or to
any other person, is presently pending before any court, agency or
commission and, if it relates to past or current conduct, such
conduct relates to future or continuing conduct. The Secretary may
request additional information, to be submitted in writing, for the
sake of clarification if the Committee or the Committee’s
Chairperson so directs. See Policy & Rules § 4d, 6.
3—The advisory opinion will be
rendered in writing to the requesting judicial official. See Policy
& Rules § 6
4---The judicial official may request
reconsideration of the opinion by the Committee within thirty days
after distribution of the opinion. See Policy & Rules § 10 for
further details.
5—The relevant procedures and rules
pertaining to informal opinions apply in all other respects.
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Committee on Judicial Ethics
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