Caudill v. Judicial Ethics Committee

GRAVES, Justice.

This is a review of an opinion of the Judicial Ethics Committee pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 4.310(4). The question under consideration is whether Canon 3B(4) of the Judicial Code of Conduct prohibits a judge from hiring a relative. Circuit Judges Eddie C. Lovelace and Danny P. Caudill, and District Judge Stephen L. Bates all employ their spouses as secretaries or administrative assistants. Joyce Lovelace, Iris Caudill and Lynn Bates were hired as secretaries prior to the judges’ appointment to the bench, and each has not less than twelve years experience as a legal…