Application

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 25, June 22, 2024

Application

(1) The provisions of this Code shall apply to all judges as defined in paragraph (2) infra.

(2) A judge within the meaning of this Code is any one of the following judicial officers who perform judicial functions, whether or not a lawyer: all Supreme Court Justices; all Superior Court Judges; all Commonwealth Court Judges; all Common Pleas Court Judges; all judges of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, except for Traffic Division; and all senior judges as set forth in (3) infra.¹

(3) All senior judges, active or eligible for recall to judicial service, shall comply with the provisions of this Code; provided however, a senior judge may accept extra-judicial appointments which are otherwise prohibited by Rule 3.4 (Appointments to Governmental Positions and Other Organizations); and incident to such appointments a senior judge is not required to comply with Rule 3.2 (Appearances Before Governmental Bodies and Consultation with Government Officials). However, during the period of such extrajudicial appointment the senior judge shall refrain from judicial service.

(4) Canon 4 (governing political and campaign activities) applies to all judicial candidates.

(5) This Code shall not apply to magisterial district judges and judges of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, Traffic Division.²

¹ Though not covered by this Code, there is a Code of Conduct for Employees of the Unified Judicial System ("Employee Code"). It applies to "employees" defined as, "Employees of the Unified Judicial System" and includes 1) all state-level court employees, and 2) all county-level court employees who are under the supervision and authority of the President Judge of a Judicial District of Pennsylvania, unless otherwise indicated by Supreme Court order or rule. This Code and the Employee Code do not apply to nonemployee special masters, commissioners, and judges pro tem.

² Specific rules governing standards of conduct of magisterial district judges, and judges of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, Traffic Division, are set forth in the Supreme Court Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of Magisterial District Judges.