Me. Code. Jud. Cond. 3.6

As amended through November 25, 2024

Rule 3.6 - Affiliation with Discriminatory Organizations

(A) A judge shall not hold membership in any organization that practices unlawful discrimination. A judge who is a member of such an organization at the effective date of this Rule, or who learns at a later time that an organization of which the judge is a member practices unlawful discrimination, may retain membership in the organization for a reasonable time not exceeding one year, but must resign if the organization does not discontinue its discriminatory practices within that time.

(B) A judge shall not use the benefits or facilities of an organization if the judge knows or should know that the organization practices unlawful discrimination. A judge's attendance at an event in a facility of an organization that the judge is not permitted to join is not a violation of this Rule when the judge's attendance is an isolated event that could not reasonably be perceived as an endorsement of the organization's practices.

(C) A judge's membership in a religious organization as a lawful exercise of the freedom of religion is not a violation of this Rule.

Me. Code. Jud. Cond. 3.6

Adopted July 1, 2015, effective 9/1/2015.

Advisory Notes - 2015

Rule 3.6 is based on the 2011 ABA Model Code and is similar to 1993 Canon 2(C) which is supported by an extensive 1993 Advisory Committee's Note. Rule 3.6 differs in three ways from the 2011 Model Code.

First, it substitutes the term "unlawful discrimination" for the term "invidious discrimination" that appears in the Model Code. The change is made because the term "unlawful discrimination" is specific and definable by reference to anti-discrimination laws and judicial interpretations of those laws, while the term "invidious discrimination" is subjective and ambiguous and could invite many disputes about what acts are discriminatory based on an individual's perspective. See Advisory Notes to Rule 3.1.

Second, the redraft retains the current one-year window in 1993 Canon 2(C) for a judge, once he or she discovers that an organization is engaging in discriminatory practices, to withdraw from the organization if the discriminatory practices do not end. There is no similar window in the ABA Model Code.

Third, the redraft adds, as paragraph (C), a protection from complaint for a judge's membership in a religious organization. This addition is consistent with the purpose of Rule 3.6, as noted in Comment [4] to the 2011 Model Code.