PART IX — SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS AND ENFORCEMENT
Rule 78. Judicial conduct and discipline
Authority and limits
This Rule implements the Court’s authority over judicial officers under article V, sections III and VIII of the Ridgeway Constitution and 3 R. Stat. § 121.107. It does not create a ground for removal, suspension, or punishment.
For a proved violation of duly adopted judicial canons, the Court may admonish, reprimand, or censure a State judge.
Suspension from judicial function is available only for cause and in the manner provided by an active law.
Removal from office is available only through impeachment or another constitutional procedure.
A case-specific recusal, reassignment, or access-protection order is not discipline or suspension from office.
Initiation and screening
A complaint may be submitted through the procedure published by the Judicial Conference. The Court may also act on a referral, authenticated court record, or its own order. Before formal charges, a disinterested person or committee designated under lawful authority must determine whether the allegations, if true, would violate an applicable canon and whether reliable support exists. Anonymous information may prompt inquiry but cannot alone support formal discipline.
Dismissal at screening
A complaint must be dismissed at screening if it:
challenges only the merits of a judicial ruling for which review was available;
alleges no conduct governed by an applicable canon or law;
is knowingly duplicative without new material;
lacks any reliable factual basis after reasonable inquiry; or
seeks a sanction the Court has no power to impose.
A screening dismissal is not a merits adjudication of a litigant’s case and ordinarily remains confidential.
Formal charges
Formal charges must identify each canon or law, the specific conduct, material evidence, and the range of lawful dispositions. The Clerk must serve the charges and evidence index. The judicial officer must answer within seven days after service. No charge is deemed admitted by silence.
Disqualification and no-quorum problem
A Justice who is the subject, complainant, investigator, prosecutor, or material witness must not adjudicate. Rule 70 governs other disqualification. If fewer than three eligible Justices remain, the Court may preserve records and refer the matter as law permits, but may not invent a replacement decisionmaker or impose discipline without a lawful quorum.
Hearing
If a material fact is disputed, a disinterested Justice, judge, or special master authorized by law must hold an evidentiary hearing. The judicial officer has the right to:
notice and counsel;
present evidence and question adverse witnesses;
invoke privilege and other lawful protections;
make written and oral argument; and
receive a complete record.
The Ridgeway Rules of Evidence apply. The appointed presenting officer bears the burden to prove a violation by clear and convincing evidence.
Interim case protection
Before final decision, the Chief Justice or Court may take a case-management measure otherwise authorized by law to protect impartial adjudication, records, or participants. The measure must be written, temporary, and no broader than necessary. It may not be labeled or used as suspension from judicial function unless an active law supplies the cause and manner required by the Constitution.
Decision and sanction
The eligible Justices must independently review the record. A final decision must state findings, the canons or law applied, vote, and disposition. For a proved canon violation, the Court may:
privately admonish only when law permits confidentiality and the conduct caused no substantial public harm;
publicly admonish;
publicly reprimand; or
publicly censure.
The Court may also refer possible impeachment, criminal conduct, attorney misconduct, or employment action to the body having jurisdiction, without deciding that separate matter.
Public access
Screening and investigation are confidential to the extent allowed by law. Formal charges and hearings should be public unless a narrowly tailored order protects a compelling interest. Every public sanction must be filed and published. An exoneration after public charges must receive comparable publication.
Resignation, retirement, and end of term
Resignation, retirement, expiration of a term, or loss of platform access does not automatically erase the record or moot a proceeding. The Court may continue only to the extent necessary and authorized to decide an available disposition, protect future judicial or legal service, or make a lawful referral.