H-2789.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2703

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      53rd Legislature     1994 Regular Session

By Representatives Brough, Dorn, Cothern, Karahalios, Carlson, Stevens, Roland, Brumsickle, Chappell, Campbell, Van Luven, Ballasiotes, Holm, Rayburn, R. Meyers and Sheldon

Read first time 01/21/94.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Allowing judicial candidates to express their views on legal or political issues.

    AN ACT Relating to election campaigns for judicial positions; and adding a new section to chapter 42.17 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 42.17 RCW to read as follows:

    Notwithstanding any provision of the code of judicial conduct or any other court rule, no sanction of any sort, including but not limited to sanction by the commission on judicial conduct, may be imposed upon a person, including an incumbent judge, for announcing his or her views on legal or political issues as part of the person's candidacy for an elected or appointed judicial office.

    Nothing in this section affects the standards required of judges in the handling of cases, and nothing in this section affects the rights of a party with respect to a judge's conduct in a particular case.

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