Vt. Admin. Ord. Of. Sup. Ct. 2.4

As amended through December 16, 2024

Rule 2.4 - External Influences on Judicial Conduct

(A) A judge shall not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism.

(B) A judge shall not permit family, social, political, financial, or other interests or relationships to influence the judge's judicial conduct or judgment.

(C) A judge shall not convey or permit others to convey the impression that any person or organization is in a position to influence the judge.

Vt. Admin. Ord. Of. Sup. Ct. 2.4

Amended August 6, 2019, eff. 10/7/2019.

Comment

[1] An independent judiciary requires that judges decide cases according to the law and facts, without regard to whether particular laws or litigants are popular or unpopular with the public, the media, government officials, or the judge's friends or family. Confidence in the judiciary is eroded if judicial decision making is perceived to be subject to inappropriate outside influences.

Reporter's Notes

Rule 2.4(A) carries forward the second sentence of Vermont Code 1994, Canon 3B(2). Rule 2.4(B) carries forward the first sentence of former Canon 2B, replacing "other" with "financial. interests or" to make clear that they were included in view of their importance. Rule 2.4(C) is the second clause of the second sentence of Vermont Code 1994, Canon 2B, revised to make clear that the prohibition also applied to influence by a third person and eliminating "special" as superfluous. See Reporter's Notes to Rule 1.3; ABA Reporter's Explanation 93-94. Comment [1], new in ABA Code 2007, is intended to show the relationship between the avoidance of outside influence and the duty imposed by Rule 2.2 to act fairly and impartially.