Canon 6 - A Judge Shall Accept Compensation or Gifts for Quasi-Judicial and Extra-Judicial Activities Only Under Restricted CircumstancesA judge may receive compensation and expenses for the quasi-judicial and extra-judicial activities permitted by this Code, if the source of such payments does not give the appearance of influencing the judge in his or her judicial duties or otherwise give the appearance of impropriety, subject to the following restrictions:
A.Compensation. Compensation for quasi-judicial activities shall not exceed a reasonable amount. Compensation for extra-judicial activities shall not exceed what a person who is not a judge would receive for the same activity.B.Expenses. Expenses shall be limited to the actual cost of travel, food, and lodging reasonably incurred by the judge and, where appropriate to the occasion, by his or her spouse. Any payment in excess of such an amount is compensation.C.Gifts. A judge, a judge's spouse, or a member of the judge's immediate family residing in the judge's household shall not accept any gifts or favors which might reasonably appear as designed to affect the judgment of the judge or influence the judge's official conduct.D.Annual Reports.(1) A judge shall report annually all compensation and expenses received in connection with any quasi-judicial activity of the judge when the amount received for any such quasi-judicial activity exceeds $500 and is paid for by any individual, professional organization or association, including law-related groups, or any business organization or association.(2) The judge's report shall be filed in the Office of the Judicial Administrator of the Supreme Court of Louisiana on or before January 31st of each year, for the preceding calendar year, and the report shall be subject to public inspection. In the report the judge shall list the name of the payor/donor, the date, the place and the nature of the quasi-judicial activity.(3) A judge shall file initial and annual disclosure statements with the Office of the Judicial Administrator of the Supreme Court of Louisiana if the judge derives directly, or through a legal entity of which he/she owns ten percent or more, anything of economic value, when that value exceeds $2,500, from a contract or subcontract which is related to a disaster or emergency declared by the governor, and when the judge knows or reasonably should know the contract or subcontract is or may be funded or reimbursed in whole or in part with federal funds. Initial disclosure statements shall be due on or before March 1, 2006, or within 15 days after the judge or legal entity enters into such a contract or subcontract, whichever occurs later. Thereafter, annual disclosure statements are due on or before January 31st. Disclosure statements shall be subject to public inspection.
Disclosure statements shall contain the following information:
(a) The name, business address and office held by the judge;(b) If through a legal entity, (i) the name and business address of the legal entity;(ii) the percentage of the judge's ownership interest in the legal entity;(iii) the position, if any, held by the judge in the legal entity;(c) The nature of the contract or subcontract, including: (i) the amount of the contract or subcontract;(ii) a description of the goods or services provided or to be provided pursuant to the contract or subcontract;(d) The amount of income or value of anything of economic value to be derived or, if the actual amount is unknown at the time the statement is due, the amount reasonably expected to be derived by the judge from the contract or subcontract. Any judge who is subject to the provisions of this subpart shall be required to file annual disclosure statements until a disclosure statement is filed after the completion of the contract or subcontract subject to disclosure, or until the judge vacates his/her judicial office, whichever occurs first. Annual disclosure statements shall not be required for the receipt of things of economic value pursuant to contracts or subcontracts entered into prior to the judge taking office; however, if a judge receives or reasonably expects to receive a thing of economic value otherwise required to be disclosed by this subpart pursuant to the renewal of such a contract or subcontract occurring after the judge takes office, the judge shall file a disclosure statement no later than 15 days after such renewal.
La. Code. Jud. Cond., canon 6
Added effective 1/1/2006; Amended effective 2/1/2006; amended effective 8/1/2008.