The foundation of our society rests, in part, on the ability of its citizens to wisely judge the value of our courts and to acknowledge the integrity of the judiciary as a coequal branch of our government. Court professionals, who work for the judicial branch and are faithful to these values, must be accountable to that trust. Therefore, the National Association for Court Management has developed a Model Code of Conduct for Court Professionals. This code is a personal and professional pledge to that trust and to those values. The code was developed to inspire court professionals to accept, achieve, and adhere to the canons laid out in the code. The code is not intended to replace separate professional codes to which numerous court professionals already prescribe. It is intended to complement separate professional codes that bind court system professionals.

During the 2022 NACM Midyear Conference in Bellevue, Washington, we once again had a great turnout for the ethics presentation. Over 50 participants attended the presentation titled 'NACM’s CORE® - Ethics and the Future of Courts: What We Know Now.' Using electronic voting and open-ended discussion we explored Teleworking, Virtual Trials and Hearings, Vaccine and Mask Mandates, and are Policy and Ethics were Mutually Exclusive. Here is a session summary.

During a CoffeeTalk in July 2021, discussion arose around a memo by Judge Charles Kornmann of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota regarding employees being vaccinated. Here is the article pertaining to this memo, via the Dakota Free Press.

A recent panel was convened for a Question of Ethics video conversation. Watch/Listen as Courtney Whiteside, (Court Administrator for the Municipal Court in St. Louis, MO), Barbara Marcille, (Trial Court Administrator for the 4th Judicial District in Portland, OR), and Karl Thoennes, (Trial Court Administrator for the 2nd Judicial Circuit Court in Sioux Falls, SD) discuss the Courts, Safety and Privacy issues. Video or Audio