Internal ABA Debate Goes Public Over “Appearance of Impropriety” as Judicial Ethics Rule

One committee member has resigned — and made a noisy withdrawal, at that — over revisions to the ABA’s proposed judicial code and particularly its more recent placement of the “appearance of impropriety” caution into its precatory guidelines. This rather than making it a party-enforceable rule.  The story here from Law.com, and our own background on prior versions here.  The new code will be debated at the upcoming ABA mid-year meeting in Miami, and this issue is sure to be the main point of departure.  [Alan Childress]

UPDATE:  NYTimes editorial here.