Judicial Ethics: Acceptance Of Gifts And Benefits.pdf

A judge shall not accept any gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, favors, or other things of value, except as follows: items with little intrinsic value, such as plaques, certificates, trophies, and greeting cards; gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, favors, or other things of value from individuals whose relationship with the judge would require disqualification under Rule 2.11; ordinary social hospitality; commercial or financial opportunities and benefits, including special pricing and discounts, and loans from lending institutions in their regular course of business, if the same opportunities and benefits or loans are made available on the same terms to similarly situated persons who are not judges; rewards and prizes given to competitors or participants in random drawings, contests, or other events that are open to persons who are not judges; scholarships, fellowships, and similar benefits or awards, if they are available to similarly situated persons who are not judges, based upon the same terms and criteria; books, magazines, journals, audiovisual materials, and other resource materials supplied by publishers on a complimentary basis for official use; gifts incident to a public testimonial; invitations to the judge and the judge's spouse, domestic partner, or guest to attend without charge an event associated with a bar-related function or other activity relating to the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice, or an event associated with any of the judge's educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic activities permitted by this Code, if the same invitation is offered to nonjudges who are engaged in similar ways in the activity as is the judge; and gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, favors, or other things of value, only if the donor is not a party or other person whose interests have come or are likely to come before the judge, including lawyers who practice or have practiced before the judge.