Also known as: unjudicially · nonjudicial
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Conduct or behavior that is not becoming of or appropriate to a judge.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Ulf Ulfsson presides over a foreclosure action by Unity Capital against Urban Utley under a deed of trust with power-of-sale language. During the hearing Ulfsson openly mocks the borrower's payment history and suggests the outcome is predetermined. The remarks constitute unjudicial conduct because they display personal animus instead of detached adjudication of the mortgage dispute.
Ursula Ureña sits on a challenge to a legislative map that mixes tourism and industrial districts. Before hearing arguments she announces her view that the plan unfairly targets coastal voters. The announcement is unjudicial because it signals a predetermined outcome on a justiciability question requiring impartial analysis.
Ulysses Ulrich authorizes a nonjudicial foreclosure sale before confirming that the creditor satisfied all statutory preconditions under the uniform act. The order issues without any hearing or record of default. The action is unjudicial because it bypasses required procedural safeguards in a manner inconsistent with judicial responsibility.
Ugo Ucelli, while still on the bench, issues a press release condemning a legislative veto mechanism as unconstitutional. The statement appears before any case is filed. The release amounts to unjudicial conduct because it injects the judge into a separation-of-powers controversy outside the judicial role.
Uriah Urban grants an interview discussing the merits of a prior-restraint claim against a newspaper while the matter remains under submission. The comments preview the likely outcome. The interview constitutes unjudicial conduct because it compromises the appearance of impartial decision-making in a high-profile constitutional case.
Ulf Ulfsson, still serving as a judge, publishes an op-ed asserting that certain bankruptcy proceedings lack constitutional legitimacy. The article appears while similar issues are pending in his circuit. The publication is unjudicial because it publicly undermines confidence in an adjudicative system the judge is sworn to uphold.
Black's Law Dictionary defines the term as conduct or behavior that is not becoming of or appropriate to a judge. The definition appears in both the seventh and eighth editions and is cross-referenced to cases involving judicial ethics.
Rule 4.5(A) requires a judge to resign upon becoming a candidate for nonjudicial elective office unless permitted by law to continue. Rule 4.5(B) permits a judge to remain in office while seeking nonjudicial appointive office provided other code provisions are followed.
…for the decisions of cases or controversies properly before it. The Court has held that executive or administrative duties of a nonjudicial nature may not be imposed on judges holding office under Art. III of the Constitution. United States v. Ferreira , 13 How. 40 (1852); Hayburn's Case , 2 Dall. 409 (1792). The Court has…