More ethical judicial campaigns?

The Times Union reported last week that a new rule approved by the New York Administrative Board of the Courts will require the state’s judicial candidates to attend ethics training.

Any step toward more ethical government in New York is a good one.

Jonathan Lippman, the state’s chief administrative judge, said that “[t]his new program will ensure that those running for judicial office will have all the information and guidance they need to conduct a fair, dignified campaign.” The Judicial Campaign Ethics Center will conduct the training, a two-hour program discussing court rules relevant to judicial candidates as well as ethical questions that arise in hypothetical campaign situations. The program is the latest reform spurred by recommendations from the Commission to Promote Public Confidence in Judicial Elections, which Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye impaneled to bolster public confidence in the judiciary and promote ethical judicial campaigns.

Categories: General, Governmental Ethics, Judicial Selection