Ohio Jud. Cond. R. 4.2

As amended through October 29, 2024

Rule 4.2 - Political and Campaign Activities of Judicial Candidates

(A) A judicial candidate shall be responsible for all of the following:

(1) Acting at all times in a manner consistent with the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary;

(2) Reviewing and approving the content of all campaign statements and materials produced by the judicial candidate or his or her campaign committee before their dissemination;

(3) The content of any statement communicated in any medium by his or her campaign committee and for compliance by his or her campaign committee with the limitations on campaign solicitations and contributions contained in Rule 4.4, if the candidate knew of the statement, solicitation, or contribution;

(4) No earlier than one year prior to or no later than sixty days after certification of his or her candidacy by the election authority, completing a two-hour course in campaign practices, finance, and ethics accredited by the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and certifying such completion within five days of the date of the course to the Board of Professional Conduct.

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TEMPORARY PROVISION APPLICABLE TO JUDICIAL CANDIDATES WHO WILL APPEAR ON THE BALLOT IN 2012

Notwithstanding any provision of Rule 4.2(A)(4) of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct to the contrary, a judicial candidate who is required to file nominating petitions to appear on the March 6, 2012 primary election ballot shall have until February 29, 2012 to satisfy the two-hour judicial campaign course requirement set forth in that rule.

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(B) A judicial candidate shall not do any of the following:

(1) Jointly raise funds with a candidate for nonjudicial office, except as permitted by division (C) of this rule;

(2) Appear in a joint campaign advertisement with a candidate for nonjudicial office, except as permitted by division (C) of this rule;

(3) Expend funds in a judicial campaign that have been contributed to the judicial candidate to promote his or her candidacy for a nonjudicial office. 8 1

(C) A judicial candidate may do any of the following:

(1) Conduct joint fundraising activities with other judicial candidates;

(2) Appear in joint campaign advertisements with other judicial candidates;

(3) Participate with judicial and nonjudicial candidates in fundraising activities organized or sponsored by a political party;

(4) Appear with other candidates for public office on slate cards, sample ballots, and other publications of a political party that identify all of the candidates endorsed by the party in an election;

(5) Seek, accept, or use endorsements from any person or organization;

(6) State in person or in advertising that he or she is a member of, affiliated with, nominee of, or endorsed by a political party.

Comment

[1] A judicial candidate remains subject to Rules 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4, in addition to the requirements of this rule. For example, a candidate continues to be prohibited from soliciting funds for a political party, knowingly making false statements during a campaign, or making certain promises, pledges, or commitments related to future adjudicative duties. See Rule 4.1(A), 4.3, and 4.4(F).

[2] In elections for judicial office, a candidate may be nominated by or otherwise publicly identified or associated with a political party. This relationship may be maintained through the period of the campaign, and a judicial candidate may include political party affiliation or similar designations in his or her campaign communications. Although these affiliations and others may be communicated to the electorate, a judicial candidate should consider the effect that partisanship has on the principles of judicial independence, integrity, and impartiality.

Comparison to Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct

Rule 4.2 contains many of the provisions found in Ohio Canons 7(B), (C), and (F). The rule is organized in three parts: division (A) sets forth activities for which a judicial candidate is responsible during the campaign; division (B) sets forth prohibited campaign activities; and division (C) lists permissible campaign activities.

Rule 4.2(A)(1) reflects the "independence, integrity, and impartiality" standard used elsewhere in the Code and replaces the "maintain the dignity appropriate to judicial office" standard found in Ohio Canon 7(B)(1). Rules 4.2(A)(2) and (3) are analogous to Ohio Canon 7(F), with the addition of placing an affirmative duty on a judicial candidate to review and approve the content of campaign statements and materials prior to dissemination. Rule 4.2(A)(4) is identical to the substance of Ohio Canon 7(B)(5).

Rules 4.2(B)(1) and (2) retain the prohibitions on fundraising and advertising with nonjudicial candidates found in Ohio Canon 7(B)(2)(g). Rule 4.2(B)(3) is identical to Ohio Canon 7(C)(7)(a), and Rule 4.2(B)(4) corresponds to Ohio Canon 7(B)(3)(b).

Rules 4.2(C)(1), (2), (3), and (4) correspond to conduct that is permissible under Ohio Canon 7(B)(2)(g). Rule 4.2(C)(5) affirms what is permissible under Canon 7 -that a judicial candidate may seek, accept, and use endorsements from persons and organizations. Rule 4.3 and case law govern the manner in which endorsements are used in campaign communications. See In re Judicial Campaign Complaint Against Roberts (1996), 82 Ohio Misc.2d 59; In re Judicial Campaign Complaint Against Burick (1999), 95 Ohio Misc.2d 1; and Disciplinary Counsel v. Kaup 102 Ohio St.3d 29, 2004-Ohio-1525.

Rule 4.2(C)(6) permits the use of party nominations and endorsements in campaign communications throughout a judicial campaign, and Rule 4.2(C)(7) allow party affiliation or membership to be communicated in person or in advertising through the date of the primary election. These provisions continue the standards contained in Ohio Canons 7(B)(3)(a) (iii) and (iv).

Comparison to ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct

Model Rule 4.2 sets forth standards applicable to judicial candidates who are subject to public election, whether the election is a retention election or partisan or nonpartisan in nature. Rule 4.2 retains many of these standards and modifies or eliminates others to reflect the present system of selecting judges in Ohio.

Model Rule 4.2(A)(1) is retained in Rule 4.2(A)(1).

Model Rule 4.2(A)(2) is unnecessary in light of statutory provisions contained in Title 35 of the Revised Code applicable to all candidates for public office.

Model Rule 4.2(A)(3) is identical in substance to Rule 4.2(A)(2), and Model Rule 4.2(A)(4) is replaced by the more definitive requirement found in Rule 4.2(A)(3). Rule 4.2(A)(4) has no counterpart in the Model Code.

Model Rules 4.2(B) and (C) are replaced by the provisions of Rule 4.2(B) and (C) that are taken from Ohio Canon 7.

Comments [1] and [2] correspond to Model Rule 4.2, Comments [2] and [3], with modifications to conform the comments to the rule. Comments [1] and [4] to [7] of the Model Rule are inconsistent with Rule 4.2 and other provisions of Canon 4 and are not adopted.

Ohio. Jud. Cond. R. 4.2

The amendments to the Jud. Cond. Rule 4.2(B) and (C) and Comment [2] adopted by the Supreme Court of Ohio on August 10, 2010, shall take effect on August 12, 2010; last amended effective 8/11/2015; Comment [1] amended November 29, 2016, effective 1/1/2017.