Md. R. Jud. & Judi. Appts. 18-203.6

As amended through October 15, 2024

Rule 18-203.6 - Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations

(a) A judicial appointee shall not hold membership in any organization that practices invidious discrimination on the basis of race, sex, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.

(b) A judicial appointee shall not use the benefits or facilities of an organization if the judicial appointee knows or should know that the organization practices invidious discrimination on one or more of the bases identified in section (a) of this Rule. A judicial appointee's attendance at an event in a facility of an organization that the judicial appointee is not permitted to join is not a violation of this Rule when the judicial appointee's attendance is an isolated event that could not reasonably be perceived as an endorsement of the organization's practices.

This Rule is derived from former Rule 3.6 of Rule 16-814(2016).

Adopted June 6, 2016, eff. 7/1/2016.

COMMENT

[1] A judicial appointee's public manifestation of approval of invidious discrimination on any basis gives rise to the appearance of impropriety and diminishes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. A judicial appointee's membership in an organization that practices invidious discrimination creates the perception that the judicial appointee's impartiality is impaired.

[2] An organization is generally said to discriminate invidiously if it arbitrarily excludes from membership on the basis of race, sex, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, or sexual orientation individuals who would otherwise be eligible for admission. Whether an organization practices invidious discrimination is a complex question to which judicial appointees should be attentive. The answer cannot be determined from a mere examination of an organization's current membership rolls, but rather, depends upon how the organization selects members, as well as other relevant factors, such as whether the organization is dedicated to the preservation of religious, ethnic, or cultural values of legitimate common interest to its members, or whether it is an intimate, purely private organization whose membership limitations could not constitutionally be prohibited.

[3] When a judicial appointee learns that an organization to which the judicial appointee belongs engages in invidious discrimination, the judicial appointee must resign immediately from the organization.

[4] A judicial appointee's membership in a religious organization as a lawful exercise of the freedom of religion is not a violation of this Rule.

[5] This Rule does not apply to national or state military service.