Accepting an invitation to a Christmas party that is being conducted by a company with a pending case in your court is proper or improper conduct?

• A. Not specified
• B. Improper
• C. Proper
• D. Depends on circumstances

Answer: (B)

Maintaining impartiality and avoiding any appearance of impropriety is essential in a court role. Accepting an invitation to a social event from a company that has a case pending before your court could be seen as giving them special access or favor, which risks bias or the appearance of bias. Even if no bias actually exists, the public may doubt the neutrality of the decision-maker, which undermines trust in the judiciary. For a clerk, the duty is to stay neutral and steer clear of situations that could call that neutrality into question. Therefore, this invitation is improper conduct. In practice, the safest course is to decline to avoid any potential appearance of impropriety tied to parties involved in a case before the court.