Rick Dove, secretary of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline and Michelle Hall, senior staff counsel to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline serve as faculty members teaching the judicial candidate seminars.

Rick Dove, secretary of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline and Michelle Hall, senior staff counsel to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline serve as faculty members teaching the judicial candidate seminars.

The first of five judicial candidate seminars for judges on the ballot next year will be held on February 6 in Dublin.

Rule 4.2(A)(4) of the Code of Judicial Conduct requires all judicial candidates, including incumbent judges, who are seeking election in 2013 to attend a campaign practices seminar. Candidates must satisfy the requirement within one year before or 30 days after their candidacy is certified by the board of elections.

All judges in Ohio are elected to six-year terms. With 2013 being an odd-numbered year, there will be elections for municipal court judges.

Rick Dove, secretary of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline and one of the faculty members teaching the course, said participants have included incumbents and challengers, campaign volunteers, and paid consultants. In fact, judicial candidates are encouraged to bring their campaign chairpersons and treasurers with them to the seminar.

“The judicial campaign seminars foster a greater understanding of and compliance with the requirements of the Code of Judicial Conduct that are applicable to judicial candidates,” Dove said. “The seminar presentations focus on rules that are unique to judicial campaigns, discuss cases in which judicial candidates were sanctioned for violating the rules, and address questions that frequently are asked by judicial candidates.”

The free seminar covers the ethics rules governing political and campaign activity by judicial candidates, including campaign conduct, standards, communications, solicitations and contributions, and campaign finance reporting and disclaimers. Faculty members include Michelle Hall, senior staff counsel to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline, and a representative from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office. Two hours of general CLE credit have been requested for the seminar, and no preregistration is required.