Wash. Code. Jud. Cond. 2.2
A judge shall uphold and apply the law,* and shall perform all duties of judicial office fairly and impartially.*
Wash. Code. Jud. Cond. 2.2
Comments
[1] To ensure impartiality and fairness to all parties, a judge must be objective and open-minded.
[2] Although each judge comes to the bench with a unique background and personal philosophy, a judge must interpret and apply the law without regard to whether the judge approves or disapproves of the law in question.
[3] When applying and interpreting the law, a judge sometimes may make good-faith errors of fact or law. Errors of this kind do not violate this Rule.
[4] At times, judges have before them unrepresented litigants whose lack of knowledge about the law and about judicial procedures and requirements may inhibit their ability to be heard effectively. A judge's obligation under Rule 2.2 to remain fair and impartial and to uphold and apply the law does not preclude the judge from making reasonable accommodations to ensure an unrepresented litigant's right to be heard, so long as those accommodations do not give the unrepresented litigant an unfair advantage. This rule does not require a judge to make any particular accommodation.