The American Bar Association (“the ABA”) has weighed in on the issue of judges’ use of social networking sites—a rare acknowledgement of social media’s impact by an industry that has been slow to adapt to the digital age.

The ABA, the nation’s largest professional body of lawyers, issued an opinion on Thursday regarding protocol that judges should follow when accessing social media.  The opinion, titled Formal Opinion 462 (“the Opinion”), is part of a series of guidelines that the ABA regularly releases concerning the policies and behavior of those in the legal profession.

The Opinion, though quick to note the benefits of social media for judges, by and large points a warning finger at judges.  Social media, if utilized improperly, has the potential to create problems for judges under the Model Code of Judicial Conduct (“the Model Code”), a body of rules governing the professional conduct of judges.  Facebook, for instance, which allows individuals to promote politicians by “liking” certain pages, could present conflicts of interest for judges, who are prohibited from “publicly endorsing or opposing a candidate for any public office” pursuant to the Model Code Rule 4.1(A)(3).

“Judges should be aware that clicking such buttons on others’ political campaign [social networking] sites could be perceived as a violation of judicial ethics rules that prohibit judges from publicly endorsing or opposing another candidate for any public office,” the Opinion states.

The Opinion sets out a lengthy list of reminders for judges, urging them to remain aware of the obligations of the judicial office and to be mindful of how their actions on social media sites may be perceived by the public.

“All of a judge’s social contacts . . . are governed by the requirement that  judges must at all times act in a manner ‘that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary,’ and must ‘avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety,’” according to the Opinion (citing the Model Code Rule 1.2).

In keeping with the provisions of the Model Code while using social media, a judge should, among other things, not form relationships with people or groups who may be perceived as capable of influencing that judge; avoid comments and interactions that may be interpreted as communications regarding pending matters; and avoid using any social networking site to obtain information regarding a matter before the judge.

“[J]udges must be very thoughtful in their interactions with others, particularly when using [social media],” the Opinion states.

The ABA’s publication of the Opinion comes on the heels of similar opinions issued by a slew of state ethics committees to address judges’ use of social media sites.  The Tennessee Judicial Ethics Committee, for instance, issued an advisory opinion this past October discussing judges’ participation in social media, specifically judges “friending” attorneys on Facebook.  Other states that have addressed similar issues include New York, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Such moves are indicative of the changes that the legal field has already made in order to adapt to the digital age.  Still, as  social media continues to evolve, challenges remain for ethics rule-making bodies seeking to reconcile the obligation that judges have to the public with their use of social technology.