Advisory Opinion No. 98-16

Re: The Honorable Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Jr.

QUESTION PRESENTED

The Petitioner, the Chief Judge of the Rhode Island Family Court, a state appointed position, requests an advisory opinion as to whether he and his spouse may enter into a lease with The Rhode Island Juvenile Officer’s Association, Inc. given that some members and/or officers of the Association may appear in their official capacities before the Petitioner in his official capacity.

RESPONSE

It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that no violation of the Code of Ethics will result for the Petitioner, the Chief Judge of the Rhode Island Family Court, a state appointed position, by virtue of the fact that he and his spouse may enter into a lease with The Rhode Island Juvenile Officer’s Association, some of whose members and/or officers may appear before the Petitioner in his official capacity.

The Petitioner represents that the potential lessee, The Rhode Island Juvenile Officer’s Association, is a non-profit corporation, composed of volunteer members of law enforcement, who act as juvenile officers in Rhode Island municipalities. Some members and/or officers of the Association may appear before the Petitioner, as a family court judge, in their official capacities. The Petitioner advises that he is unaware of the identities of all members and officers of the Association. Because of the proposed landlord/tenant relationship between the Petitioner and the Association, the Petitioner must recuse himself from participation in the consideration and disposition of any matters involving the Association that may come before him in his official capacity. Additionally, the Commission previously has found that an organization's board of directors stands in a position to affect the financial objectives of that organization. Therefore, the Petitioner should exercise the recusal provisions of the Code whenever matters involving a member of the Association's Board of Directors come before him. The Petitioner may participate, however, in matters involving individual members of the Association, as they are not in a position to affect the financial objectives of the Association.

Code Citations:

36-14-2(8)

36-14-5(a)

36-14-5(d)

36-14-6

36-14-7(a)

Related Advisory Opinions:

97-9

97-30

96-24

Keywords:

Business associate

Business interest