From today's unanimous Washington Supreme Court opinion (written by Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud) in In the Matter of Keenan, reversing a decision I discussed last month:
The Commission on Judicial Conduct (Commission) ruled that Judge David S. Keenan, a King County Superior Court judge, violated the Code of Judicial Conduct (CJC or Code) when he approved a bus advertisement for North Seattle College. The ad pictured him and stated, in part, "A Superior Court Judge, David Keenan got into law in part to advocate for marginalized communities." North Seattle College is a nonprofit community college where Judge Keenan received both his high school and his associate's degrees. The ad ran for three weeks as part of North Seattle College's fall enrollment campaign.
Judge Keenan's conduct … did not violate his duty to be, and to appear, impartial, and he did not abuse the prestige of his office. We therefore reverse the Commission's decision and dismiss the charges….
The Commission ruled that Judge Keenan's decision to approve the bus ad violated Rule 1.2 because it showed that he was partial to "marginalized communities" and, hence, the ad undermined public confidence in the judiciary.
