Washington, DC-On December 5, 2003, HALT Associate Counsel Suzanne Mishkin testified before an American Bar Association joint commission created to recommend revisions to the Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Mishkin, who testified along with a handful of other public interest advocates at the hearing, urged the commission to alter the model code to include stricter requirements for financial disclosure, certification and privately-funded junkets for judges.

"The appearance of impropriety needs to be spelled out further in the new code," Mishkin told the Commission, comprised of judges, ethics experts, disciplinary officials and practicing lawyers across the country. "Although most judges recuse themselves in cases where they have an overt financial interest, it still appears improper when judges accept gifts from special interests groups or conceal their financial interests from litigants. Increased reporting requirements and limitations on junkets would go a long way toward building the public's confidence in the judiciary."

Mishkin's testimony followed HALT's submission of written comments to the commission in mid-October calling for clearer, more specific ethical standards. The Model Code, which is up for revision for the first time in 13 years, has been adopted at least in part by the vast majority of states.

While the current Model Code provides broad guidance on conflicts of interest, its omissions are striking. In her testimony, Mishkin advised the commission to add substance to its guidelines by requiring judges to file annual financial disclosure reports and updated recusal lists, which detail their economic interests and the relationship of those investments to the cases over which they preside. Mishkin also called for convenient public access to these reports through the clerk's office in the courthouse where the judge serves. These recommendations followed Kansas City Star and Washington Post investigations that uncovered hundreds of instances in which judges issued court orders while holding stock in a litigating corporation.

Mishkin also urged the commission to require judges to sign certifications that they have not presided over a case in which they have had a financial conflict of interest. "Just as Congress has recently passed legislation requiring corporate chief executives to certify that their reports to the SEC are accurate, judges should be required to certify that they have not handled matters in which they or their families held a financial interest," Mishkin told the Joint Commission.

Finally, Mishkin called for restrictions on judicial junkets, which are expense-paid vacations funded by private foundations and corporations that purport to "educate" judges through one-sided, often politically-charged seminars. The ethical questions raised by these practices have led to calls for reform from more than 30 editorial boards and numerous legislators from across the political spectrum. In particular, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) have been outspoken advocates for many of the reforms requested by HALT.

For a copy of HALT's written comments to the ABA Commission, please visit www.halt.org. Founded in 1978, HALT-An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public interest organization. HALT pursues an ambitious education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to expand access, increase accountability and reduce costs in the civil justice system.

		To read Mishkin’s full testimony for HALT, click here.