Ex parte communications: Refers to the improper contact and communication with the other party in a lawsuit or a judge involved in the lawsuit.
Our office receives calls and emails from people regarding representing them in their cause of action merely because they don’t trust their local attorneys. They are of the belief that the local attorneys and judges are all “in cahoots” with each other and they will not receive fair representation. Hopefully this is NOT the situation in their community.
People need to understand that neither counsel or a party in a pending action can communicate “ex parte” or outside the presence of the other party’s counsel. Nor can a party or lawyer communicate with a judge outside the presence of the other party or lawyer.
The United States legal system is based upon the principle that an independent, impartial and competent judiciary will interpret and apply the law that governs our society. This type of communication is specifically addressed in Rule 10 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee Code of Judicial Conduct. The Code of Judicial Conduct consists of four Canons with numbered Rules under each Canon.
Canon 2.9 Ex Parte Communications:
(A) A judge shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications, or consider other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties or their lawyers, concerning a pending or impending matter…
In Alabama, the Canons of Judicial Ethics – Canon 4 states:
A judge should accord to every person who is legally interested in a proceeding, or his lawyer, full right to be heard according to law, and, except as authorized by law, neither initiate nor consider ex parte communications concerning a pending or impending proceeding.
Believe it or not, lawyers and judges take this very seriously. There are severe penalties for them if they are found to be in violation of this Code. We are not saying that this has “never” happened. However, it is more likely than not that it does not happen.
