Opinion ID: 1673440
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 19

Heading: judge should regularly file public reports of compensation for personal services received for quasi-judicial and extra-judicial activities. in addition, a judge shall file an annual financial report with the judicial qualifications commission

Text: A. A judge may receive compensation and reimbursement of expenses for the quasi-judicial and extra-judicial activities permitted by this Code, if the source of such payments does not give the appearance of influencing the judge in his judicial duties or otherwise give the appearance of impropriety, subject to the following restrictions: 1. Compensation Compensation should not exceed a reasonable amount nor should it exceed what a person who is not a judge would receive for the same activity. 2. Expense Reimbursement Expense reimbursement should be limited to the actual cost of travel, food, and lodging reasonably incurred by the judge and, where appropriate to the occasion, by his spouse. Any payment in excess of such an amount is compensation. 3. Public Report A judge should report the date, place, and nature of any activity for which he received compensation, and the name of the payor and the amount of compensation so received. Compensation or income of a spouse attributed to the judge by operation of a community property law is not extra-judicial compensation to the judge. His report should be made at least annually. Reports of justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the District Courts of Appeal should be filed as a public document in the office of the clerk of their respective courts. Reports of all other judges should be filed as a public document in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the counties in which they reside. B. A judge shall file with the Judicial Qualifications Commission of this state on or before ten days after filing his federal income tax return for the year 1971 and during the same time in each year thereafter, a financial report consisting of the following documents: 1. a true copy of the most recent federal income tax return filed by him; 2. a verified statement on forms to be approved by the commission of the assets and liabilities [1] owned, held, or incurred by him at any time during the preceding year as well as a statement of the source and amounts of all income including gifts [2] and bequests, received by him during the preceding year; 3. a verified list of the names of the corporations and other businesses in which he has a financial interest. The copy of income tax return and verified financial statement called for in subparagraphs 1 and 2 above shall be transmitted in a sealed envelope, placed by the commission in safekeeping, and shall be opened only pursuant to a majority vote of the commission duly assembled. The list of corporations and businesses in which the judge has a financial interest called for in subparagraph 3 above shall be transmitted in a separate sealed envelope, placed by the commission in safekeeping, and shall not be opened or the contents thereof disclosed except in the manner hereinafter provided for the opening and examination of the documents called for in subparagraphs 1 and 2 above, or as hereinafter provided. At any time during or after the pendency of a cause, any party may request information as to whether the most recent list filed by the judge or judges before whom the cause is or was pending contains the name of any specific person or corporation or other business which is a party to the cause or which has a substantial, direct, or indirect financial interest in its outcome. Neither the making of the request nor the contents thereof shall be revealed by the chairman to any judge or other person except at the instance of the individual making the request. If the request meets the requirements hereinabove set forth, the chairman shall render a prompt answer thereto and thereupon return the report to safekeeping for retention in accordance with the provisions hereinabove stated. All such requests shall be verified and transmitted to the chairman of the commission on forms to be approved by it.