A part-time magistrate may accept employment as a legal assistant to a Staff Judge Advocate or Inspector General, according to a recent judicial ethics opinion from South Carolina:

In Opinion 2005-6, this committee considered the issue of whether apart-time magistrate could be employed by a law firm as a paralegal andinvestigator.  We concluded that such employment was permissible aslong as the judge observed the following restrictions:

1. The judge could not work on any of the law firm’s cases that were in magistrate’s court;

2. The judge would disqualify himself from any magistrate court proceeding in which the firm had a financial interest;

3.The judge would disqualify himself from any magistrate court proceedingin which an attorney from the employing firm appeared.

While here there is less risk that the judge’s co-workers at themilitary installation would appear in magistrate’s court, the samereasoning applies to this matter.  The part-time magistrate may acceptemployment with the Judge Advocate office or the Inspector Generaloffice at a military installation; however, if any other employee ofthe Judge Advocate office or the Inspector General office, or a subjectof a military investigation, appear in the magistrate’s court, thejudge must disqualify himself.  The judge is also cautioned that ifsuch employment causes frequent disqualifications which prevent thejudge from diligently carrying out judicial duties as described.

(Mike Frisch)