Judicial and Quasi-Judicial Officials, Protest Rallies, and Pride Parades

From a N.Y. Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics decision released Mar. 27, 2025 but just posted on Westlaw:

The inquiring court attorney-referee asks if he/she may attend either an unspecified "protest rally" in support of LGBTQIA rights or an annual community Pride Parade together with his/her minor child. The inquirer proposes to do so solely in his/her capacity as a parent, and expects to remain anonymous.

As quasi-judicial officials, court attorney-referees must comply with the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct in performing their official duties and otherwise must "so far as practical and appropriate" use the Rules to guide their conduct (22 NYCRR 100.6[A]). Like judges, they must avoid even the appearance of impropriety (see 22 NYCRR 100.2) and always act to promote public confidence in the judiciary's integrity and impartiality (see 22 NYCRR 100.2[A]). They also must not "directly or indirectly engage in any political activity" unless an exception applies (see 22 NYCRR 100.5[A][1]). For example, a judge or quasi-judicial official who is not in his/her window period must not attend political gatherings (22 NYCRR 100.5[A][1][g]; Opinion 22-126).

We note, initially, that a judge or quasi-judicial official "may not engage anonymously in otherwise prohibited political activity" (Opinion 16-85). Nor is there any exception permitting a judge or quasi-judicial official to attend an otherwise impermissible event "as a volunteer chaperone for students" (Opinion 24-60).

Community Pride Parade

We have advised that "judges may march in parades sponsored by municipalities or by civic, charitable, ethnic, cultural, or other not-for-profit organizations unless the parades are inseparable from the sponsoring organizations' fund-raising initiatives" (Opinion 06-147). Thus, for example, judges may march in a "community parade" celebrating both "a county bi-centennial and the end of the war in the Persian Gulf" (Opinion 91-55). Likewise, a judge may serve as a Grand Marshal or Deputy Grand Marshal in a St. Patrick's Day parade, which is organized as "a community event" rather than a fund-raiser (see Opinions 04-144; 96-148).

We see no reason for a different result with respect to a community parade that celebrates the culture and history of the LGBTQIA community. Accordingly, the inquirer may accompany his/her minor child to an annual Pride Parade.

Unspecified Protest Rally

Whether a judge or quasi-judicial official may participate in a protest, rally, march, or demonstration involves a fact-specific determination. As explained in Opinion 22-160 (internal quotations and citations omitted):

[W]e have declined to state categorically whether judges may participate, without speaking, in a local rally, march or demonstration sponsored by grassroots organizations. However, we opined that such events would generally be prohibited political activity, subject to specific facts fitting within a narrow exception to the blanket prohibition.

We likewise declined to provide blanket guidance about attending public events that invite participants to "stand with Israel," as we must consider "factors such as the identity of the sponsor(s), the actual focus and purpose of the event, the location of the event, and other matters" (Opinion 23-133).

Here, too, we cannot provide blanket guidance about attending an unspecified "protest rally" in support of LGBTQIA rights but must instead await a particularized inquiry about a specific known event.