Welcome

The Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions (CJEO) is an independent body established by the California Supreme Court to provide judicial ethics advisory opinions for the benefit of the judiciary, candidates for judicial office, and members of the public.  CJEO accepts requests for ethics opinions from judicial officers and welcomes suggestions from the public on judicial ethics topics that are of interest and importance to the community.

CJEO Resources

In addition to its core work of issuing judicial ethics advisory opinions, CJEO offers:

Don’t Miss!

CJEO provides one-stop reference pages for California judges on several topics, including:

CJEO has annotated the California Code of Judicial Ethics annotated disciplinary decisions from the Commission on Judicial Performance and created this instructional video with Judge Erica Yew:

What's New?

CJEO updates this valuable resource: The California Code of Judicial Ethics annotated with decisions issued by the Commission on Judicial Performance.

CJEO invites public comment on CJEO Draft Formal Opinion 2024-027 – Public Comment on a Pending Proceeding in Connection with a Judicial Election or Recall Campaign.

CJEO invites public comment on CJEO Draft Formal Opinion 2024-026 – Fundraising Activities for Child’s School.

CJEO Publishes Formal Opinion 2024-025 – Responding to Attorney Misconduct.

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Formal Opinions

CJEO publishes formal written advisory opinions that address judicial ethics topics of interest to the judiciary and the public (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.80(i)(2); CJEO rule 6 (b).)  Judicial officers and judicial candidates may request a formal opinion and

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Expedited Opinions and Oral Advice Summaries

CJEO provides expedited opinions, previously known as oral advice summaries, that address judicial ethics inquiries from judicial officers and candidates for judicial office.  (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.80(i)(1) [committee authorized to issue expedited opinions].)

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Informal Opinion Summaries

CJEO provides informal written advisory opinions that address judicial ethics inquiries from judicial officers and candidates for judicial office.  (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.80(j)(3); CJEO rule 7(e).)  CJEO summarizes the informal opinions it provides and publishes the summaries for

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Invitations to Comment

The committee invites and welcomes public comments on CJEO draft formal opinions.  CJEO posts Invitations to Comment after draft formal opinions have been approved by the committee.  Comments may be submitted using the online comment form or by contacting the CJEO

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Resources

CJEO offers a comprehensive collection of judicial ethics research materials as a practical and convenient way for California judges and the public to readily access helpful resources.

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Request an Opinion

CJEO considers all requests for opinions or advice from judicial officers or candidates and all suggestions for opinions from the public when determining whether to issue judicial ethics guidance. To make a request or suggest an opinion, email judicial.ethics@jud.ca.gov.  

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