The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct has issued two advisory opinions concerning judicial disqualification that replace prior opinions analyzing questions under the former Code of Judicial Conduct.

Advisory Opinion 2024-06 concludes that a judge must recuse from a matter when a lawyer who represents the judge in the matter is representing a party before the judge. The Board advised that if a single governmental agency represents both the judge and a party appearing before the judge, the agency can assign different lawyers to each case to avoid disqualification of the judge. This opinion replaces Adv. Op.1989-34.

In Advisory Opinion 2024-07, the Board holds that a judge is not automatically disqualified from presiding over a case when the judge’s campaign opponent appears as a lawyer before the judge. The Board reasoned that a judge is presumed to be impartial, even during an ongoing judicial campaign, and recusal is not required unless there is evidence of bias on behalf of the judge. This opinion replaces Adv. Op. 1987-23.