| The
Campaign Ethics Committee is responsible for ensuring compliance
with Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Canon 7
governs campaign conduct of those seeking judicial office.
Because a fair and impartial judiciary is critical, Canon 7
provides rules governing conduct of judicial candidates during the
election. The Mahoning County Bar Association has developed
Positive Campaign Expectations to assist in educating judicial
candidates as to the requirements of Canon 7. The goal of
the Committee, as set forth in the Positive Campaign Expectations,
is to "Promptly, uniformly and impartially enforce positive
campaigning consistent with Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial
Conduct." All judicial candidates that are members of the
MCBA are required to attend a one hour seminar conducted by the
Committee. The seminar outlines the requirements of Canon 7
and reviews the procedures utilized if a candidate believes
his/her opponent has violated Canon 7. A judicial candidate
can seek an advisory opinion from the committee before
disseminating campaign literature to ensure compliance with Canon
7. In addition, the Committee will conduct hearings and
render opinions if a complaint alleging a violation of Canon 7 is
files. The Complaint is filed with the Ohio Supreme Court
and referred to the MCBA for investigation and a determination.
There are approximately 20 members on
the Campaign Ethics Committee. There is a sub-committee,
which issues advisory opinions and hears complaints, which
consists of the President of the Bar Association, the Chair of the
Campaign Ethics Committee, 2 members of the Committee, and 1 lay
person. In order to ensure fair and impartial review of
complaints, members of the sub-committee are precluded from
directly or indirectly supporting any judicial candidates. |
Chair
Lynn A. Maro
|
