Pennsylvania Code › Title 207 - JUDICIAL CONDUCT › Part II - CONDUCT STANDARDS › Chapter 33 - CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT › Subchapter B - FORMAL OPINIONS › Section 99-3 - Judges and the Media

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
A judge should not comment publicly about a proceeding
					 pending before any court. Canon 3 provides, in pertinent part:
A judge should abstain from public comment about a pending
					 proceeding in any court, and should require similar abstention on the part of
					 court personnel subject to his direction and control. This subsection does not
					 prohibit judges from making public statements in the course of their official
					 duties or from explaining for public information the procedures of the
					 court.
Commentary.
"Court personnel" does not
					 include the lawyers in a proceeding before a judge. The conduct of lawyers is
					 governed by DR 7-107 of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
The Committee notes that Pennsylvania's prohibition against
					 public comment about pending proceedings is more restrictive than the Model
					 Code of Judicial Conduct adopted by the American Bar Association in 1990. The
					 Model Code provides as follows:
A judge shall not, while a proceeding is pending or
					 impending in any court, make any public comment
that might reasonably
					 be expected to affect its outcome or impair its fairness or make any nonpublic
					 comment that might substantially interfere with a fair trial or
					 hearing
(emphasis added).
The Committee suggests that the impact/fairness test of the
					 Model Code is a good guide for deciding when a judge may make public statements
					 in the course of his or her duties or explain the procedures of the court as
					 permitted by Pennsylvania's Code. If there is a danger that the statement may
					 affect the outcome of a proceeding, the judge must refrain from public
					 comment.
Canon 3 also provides very extensive and detailed
					 regulations with regard to the relationship between the court and the
					 electronic media.
A judge should prohibit broadcasting, televising, recording
					 or taking photographs in the courtroom and areas immediately adjacent thereto
					 during sessions of court or recesses between sessions . . .
The Canon then goes on to outline certain circumstances in
					 which electronic broadcasting is permitted in "trial court non-jury civil
					 proceedings." The Canon specifically excludes support, custody and divorce
					 proceedings from his section.
A judge must be particularly circumspect with regard to
					 criminal matters. Rule 326 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure provides specific
					 guidelines to be followed in widely publicized or sensational cases. Rule 327
					 places specific limitations on court personnel. Finally, Rule 328 places very
					 specific limitations on photography and broadcasting in the courtroom and its
					 environs:
The taking of photographs in the courtroom or its environs
					 or radio or television broadcasting from the courtroom or its environs during
					 the progress of or in connection with any judicial proceedings, whether or not
					 the court is actually in session, is prohibited. The environs of the courtroom
					 is defined as the area immediately surrounding the entrances and exits to the
					 courtroom.
This rule is not intended to prohibit the taking of
					 photographs or radio or television broadcasting of proceedings such as
					 naturalization ceremonies or the swearing in of public officials which may be
					 conducted in the courtroom.
Once again, while the rules carefully circumscribe the
					 coverage of matters pending before the court, they do not completely prohibit
					 contact with the medica. Canon 3 specifically permits public discussion of the
					 work of the court. If, for instance, the court is establishing a new program, a
					 judge may, in the course of his or her responsibilities, properly discuss the
					 new program with the media, as long as the judge is careful to refrain from
					 comment on any pending matter.
At the end of the Code of Judicial Conduct is a section
					 entitled "Reliance on Advisory Opinions" which provides that although the
					 advisory opinions of the Judicial Ethics Committee are not binding upon the
					 [Judicial Conduct Board and the Court of Judicial Discipline] and the Supreme
					 Court of Pennsylvania, the opinions shall be taken into account in determining
					 whether discipline should be recommended or imposed. The "rule of reliance"
					 applies to this Formal Opinion. However, before engaging in contemplated
					 conduct, any judge who, out of an abundance of caution, desires a Committee
					 opinion which will provide advice about the judge's particular set of facts and
					 to which the "rule of reliance" will also apply, may submit an inquiry to a
					 member of the Committee, ordinarily, a member serving in the judge's Conference
					 zone.