Canon 7 - A Judge Or Judicial Candidate Shall Refrain From Inappropriate Political ActivityA. Political Conduct in General. (1) A judge or judicial candidate shall not: (a) act as a leader or hold any office in a political organization;(b) publicly endorse or publicly oppose another candidate for public office;(c) make speeches on behalf of a political organization or a candidate for public office;(d) except to the extent permitted by these Canons, solicit funds for, pay an assessment to, or make a contribution to a political organization or candidate or purchase tickets for political party dinners or other campaign functions. B.Campaign Conduct.(1) A judge or judicial candidate: (a) shall maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office and act in a manner consistent with the impartiality, integrity and independence of the judiciary, and should encourage the members of the candidate's family to adhere to the same standards of political conduct in support of the candidate as apply to the candidate;(b) shall prohibit employees and officials who serve at the pleasure of the candidate, and should discourage other employees and officials subject to the candidate's direction and control from doing on the candidate's behalf what the candidate is prohibited from doing under this Canon;(c) except to the extent permitted by these Canons, shall not authorize or knowingly permit any person to do for the candidate what the candidate is prohibited from doing under this Canon;(d) shall not (i) with respect to cases, controversies, or issues that are likely to come before the court, make pledges, promises or commitments that are inconsistent with the impartial performance of the adjudicative duties of the office;(ii) knowingly make, or cause to be made, a false statement concerning the identity, qualifications, present position or other fact concerning the candidate or an opponent; or(iii) while a proceeding is pending in any Louisiana state court, make any public comment that might reasonably be expected to affect its outcome or impair its fairness.(e) may respond to personal attacks or attacks on the candidate's record as long as the response does not violate Canon 7B(1)(d).C.A Judge or a Judicial Candidate May:(1) At any time (a) attend political gatherings;(b) identify himself or herself as a member of a political party;(2) During his or her candidacy(a) speak to gatherings on his or her own behalf;(b) appear in newspaper, television or other media advertisements supporting his or her candidacy;(c) distribute pamphlets or other promotional campaign literature supporting his or her candidacy;(d) contribute to a political organization and/or be included on a political ticket or endorsement.D.Campaign Committees(1) A judge or judicial candidate shall not personally solicit or accept campaign contributions. A judge or judicial candidate may personally solicit publicly stated support.(2) A candidate may also establish committees of responsible persons to conduct campaigns for the candidate through media advertisements, brochures, mailings, candidate forums and other means not prohibited by law. Such committees may solicit and accept campaign contributions, manage the expenditure of funds for the candidate's campaign and obtain public statements of support for his or her candidacy. However, no undue pressure or coercion may be applied in such solicitation.(3) Such committees are not prohibited from soliciting or accepting campaign contributions or public support from lawyers. A candidate's committee may solicit contributions for the candidate's campaign no earlier than two years before the primary election. Contributions may be solicited after the last election in which the candidate participated only for the purpose of extinguishing the campaign debt resulting from that election. After the campaign debt is extinguished, post-election campaign contributions may not be solicited or accepted.(4) A candidate shall not use or permit the use of campaign contributions except as provided by law.E.Retention of Campaign Contributions. Not later than one year after the beginning of the term of judicial office following an election in which a judge or judicial candidate participates as a contestant, the judge or judicial candidate shall divest himself or herself of any unused campaign funds, in excess of the amount listed below, by pro rata refund to the campaign contributors or by donation to a charitable organization. The judge or judicial candidate may retain campaign funds in the following amounts proportionate to the classification of the office to which the judge or judicial candidate seeks election: Class of Judicial Office | Amount of Campaign Funds That May Be Retained |
Major Office | $300,000 |
District Office | $200,000 |
Other Office | $100,000 |
"Major Office" means the following offices: justice of the supreme court; court of appeal judge; or any district court, family court, or juvenile court judge in a judicial district comprised of a single parish with a population in excess of two hundred fifty thousand persons as determined by the most recently published decennial federal census.
"District Office" means the following offices, but shall not include any Major Office:
(a) The offices of a district, juvenile, or family court judge (except in a judicial district comprised of a single parish with a population in excess of two hundred fifty thousand persons as determined by the most recently published decennial federal census), parish court judge, city court judge, municipal court judge and traffic court judge; or(b) A justice of the peace in a judicial district comprised of a single parish with a population in excess of two hundred fifty thousand persons as determined by the most recently published decennial federal census. "Other Office" shall mean any judicial office that is not a Major Office or a District Office.
F.Other Political Activity. A judge shall not engage in any other political activity except on behalf of measures to improve the law, the legal system or the administration of justice, or as expressly authorized by law.G. Applicability. Canon 7 generally applies to all incumbent judges and judicial candidates. A successful candidate, whether or not an incumbent, is subject to judicial discipline for his or her campaign conduct; an unsuccessful candidate who is a lawyer is subject to lawyer discipline for his or her campaign conduct. A lawyer who is a candidate for judicial office is subject to Rule 8.2(a) and (b) of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct.H.Definition of Candidate. A candidate is a person seeking election or reelection to a judicial office. A person becomes a candidate for judicial office as soon as he or she makes a public announcement of candidacy, declares or files as a candidate with the election or appointment authority, or authorizes solicitation or acceptance of contributions or support, whichever occurs first. The term "candidate" has the same meaning when applied to a judge seeking election to judicial or non-judicial office.I.Candidacy for Non-Judicial Office. A judge shall resign his or her office when the judge becomes a candidate either in a party primary or in a general election for a non-judicial office, except that a judge may continue to hold judicial office while being a candidate for election to or serving as a delegate in a state constitutional convention, if the judge is otherwise permitted by law to do so.La. Code. Jud. Cond., canon 7
Added effective 2/1/2005; amended effective 8/1/2008.Commentary to Canon 7(2008)
A judge or judicial candidate's campaign committee, but not the judge or judicial candidate, may send thank you notes to the judge or judicial candidate's campaign contributors.
Court Commentary Regarding 2002 Amendment to Canon 7
The 2002 amendment to Canon 7B(1)(d) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, concerning public comments about pending or impending proceedings, is not intended to apply to in-court comments by lawyer candidates, or comments regarding a case or proceeding that the lawyer candidate is participating in. Comments by a lawyer candidate regarding a proceeding that the lawyer candidate is participating in, or a proceeding in which an associate of the lawyer candidate is participating in, are governed by Rule 3.6 of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct.