Meeting Schedule: Fourth Thursday of each month at 2:00 PM ET.
All meetings held via Zoom.
Zoom Ethics Subcommittee Meeting Meeting ID: 710 387 5466 Passcode: 021675 Find your local number
Agendas & Minutes
Date | Agenda | Minutes |
---|---|---|
August 25, 2022 | Agenda | Minutes |
September 22, 2022 | Agenda | Minutes |
October 27, 2022 | Agenda | Minutes |
November 24, 2022 | Cancelled | Cancelled |
December 22, 2022 | Cancelled | Cancelled |
January 23, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
February 23, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
March 23, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
April 27, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
May 25, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
June 22, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
July 27, 2023 | Agenda | Minutes |
Ethics Subcommittee Archive
September 23, 2021: Meeting Cancelled
November 25, 2021: Meeting Cancelled
December 23, 2021: Meeting Cancelled
April 23, 2020 No Meeting
July 2020 No Meeting
October 22, 2020: No Meeting
November 2020: No Meeting
December 2020: No Meeting
Committee Resources
- NACM Model Code of Conduct (adopted 08/24/18)
- Ethics Codes Catalog
- Ethics Issues and Challenges
- Courts, COVID, and Vaccinations: What Have We Learned, What Are We Still Learning?
- Scroll down to see related ethics videos
Related Videos
Hiring Ethical Employees:
How Can We Hire "The Good Ones"?
January 26, 2023, A Question of Ethics Conversation Episode
What actions can a court take to optimize the hiring of ethical staff? What can you do to ensure that the people you hire will adhere to your court’s Code of Conduct? Relying on the book by Bruce Weinstein, The Good Ones: Ten Crucial Qualities of High Character Employees, the Ethics Subcommittee explores some of the personal qualities that ethical employees possess. These qualities include honesty, accountability, care, courage, fairness, gratitude, humility, loyalty, patience, and presence. What can we do during the selection process to ensure that we hire employees with these qualities?
Today’s Moderator
Norman Meyer: Retired Clerk for the Federal Bankruptcy Court, District of New Mexico
Today’s Panel
- Courtney Whiteside: Director, Municipal Court, St. louis, Missouri
- Stacy Worby: State Jury Coordinator, Alaska State Court System
- Peter Kiefer: Retired Court Professional
- Eric Silverberg: Court Administrator for the City Court in Tucson, Arizona
- Karl Thoennes: Court Administrator, 2nd Judicial Circuit Court, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Stacy Owsley: Deputy Human Resources Director, Pima County Superior Court, Tucson, Arizona
- Rick Pierce: Judicial Programs Administrator, Pennsylvania Administrative of the Courts.
Leave a question or comment about the episode at ethics@nacmnet.org.
Additional Resources:
The video is 40 minutes 42 seconds long.
The audio is 38 minutes 46 seconds long.
Courts and Inside Information:
What Can and Should We Do with What We Learn at Work?
September 22nd A Question of Ethics Episode
We are not stockbrokers or day traders, but in our role as court employees we learn a lot. We know about patterns of litigation against businesses and against professionals in the community. We know about protection orders filed against real estate agents; we know about leaking basement litigation; we know about roofing contract litigation. Many cases are sealed and confidential, but most are wide open and available to the public if it takes the time to do the research. Due to the nature of our jobs, we learn about inside information more frequently than the public.
- What is the appropriate use of this information?
- Have you ever applied information obtained at work to our personal lives?
- Do you think it is appropriate for front line staff to share inside court information?
- Are there some applications of inside information that are ethically okay?
Today’s Moderator
Karl Thoennes: Court Administrator for the Second Judicial Circuit, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Today’s Panel
- Dawn Palermo: Judicial Administrator for the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Court in Harvey, Louisiana
- Kent Pankey: Senior Planner for the Supreme Court of Virginia
- Peter Kiefer: Retired Court Professional
- Eric Silverberg: Court Administrator for the City Court in Tucson, Arizona
Leave a question or comment about the episode at ethics@nacmnet.org.
Additional Resources:
Court Rules and Court Procedures: Technological Innovation
A Question of Ethics Conversation: August 15, 2022
The COVID Pandemic brought the use of technology to the forefront of our conversation worldwide. Technology is expanding at breakneck speed. Is it out stripping courts' ability to manage new technological innovations?
Relevant Ethics Canons
Canon 1 Avoiding Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities
1.1 Performing Court Duties
A court professional faithfully carries out all appropriately assigned duties, striving at all times to perform the work diligently, efficiently, equitably, thoroughly, courteously, honestly, openly, and within the scope of the court professional’s authority.
Canon 2 Performing the Duties of Position Impartially and Diligently
2.1 Independent Judgment
A court professional avoids relationships that would impair one’s impartiality and independent judgment. A court professional is vigilant concerning conflicts of interest and ensures that outside interests are never so extensive or of such a nature as to impair one’s ability to perform court duties.
Discussion Questions
- How can courts implement new technological innovations without infringing on Constitutional rights?
- How can court administrators convince judges who are resistant to change that technology is beneficial?
- What strategies can courts use to alleviate the digital divide?
Today’s Host
Courtney Whiteside, Director St. Louis Municipal Court
Today’s Panel
- Stacy Worby, State Jury Coordinator, Alaska State Court System
- Kent Pankey, Senior Planner, Virginia Supreme Court
- Karl Thoennes, Court Administrator, 2nd Judicial District, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Joe Tommasino, Legal Counsel, Justice Court, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Peter C. Kiefer, Retired Court Professional
Leave a question or comment about the episode at ethics@nacmnet.org.
Additional Resources:
Time Marker Sheet
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: Political Agendas and Affirmative Action by Court Leader's Advantage
A Question of Ethics Conversation: May 2022
NACM has made a commitment to the values of providing equal justice regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or identity, disability, or social economic status. What is the court’s ethical obligation, particularly when it comes to implementing court operations?
This episode of A Question of Ethics will continue to explore diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and NACM’s commitment to helping provide equal justice. This session was recorded after the Ethics Subcommittee Conference Call on April 28th, 2022. The questions the group explored include:
- Does focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, and programs conflict with the court’s purpose to be a separate, independent, and impartial forum for resolving disputes?
- How do courts keep political agendas out of its efforts to make court personnel and court process equitable for all?
- How does implementing DEI policies and programs compare to Affirmation Action requirements?
- How can courts today be more inclusive and accessible to those having business before it?
Relevant Canons from the NACM Code of Conduct for Court Professionals:
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- Canon 1.1: Performing Court Duties A court professional faithfully carries out all appropriately assigned duties, striving at all times to perform the work diligently, efficiently, equitably, thoroughly, courteously, honestly, openly, and within the scope of the court professional’s authority.
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- Canon 1.3: Fairness The court professional makes the court accessible and conducts his or her work without bias or prejudice.
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- Canon 1.4 Respect for Others A court professional treats litigants, co-workers, and all others interacting with the court with dignity, respect, and courtesy.
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- Canon 4.1 Inappropriate Political Activity (Paraphrased) A court professional:
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- retains his or her right to vote
- engages in political activity strictly as a private citizen, in accordance with Federal and state law, with local court rule, and with the policy of the appropriate local governing authority.
- participates in political activity only during non–court hours
- uses only non–court resources
- Never uses his or her position to politically influence others.
Diversity, Inclusion and Courts
Leave a question or comment about the episode at ethics@nacmnet.org
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion: What is the Court’s Duty? by Court Leader's Advantage
A Question of Ethics Conversation: Summer 2022 Edition of the Court Manager
Courts, Testing, and Vaccinations: What Will Your Court Decide?
A Question of Ethics: A Video Conversation on Courts and Ethics