Acceptance and Reporting of Gifts, Loans, Bequests,

Benefits, or Other Things of Value (A) A judge shall not accept, and shall urge the judge’s spouse, domestic partner, and other members of the judge’s family residing in the judge’s household not to accept, any gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, or other things of value, except as follows: Items with little intrinsic value, such as plaques, certificates, trophies, and (1) greeting cards; (2) Gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, or other things of value from friends, relatives, or other persons, including lawyers, whose appearance or interest in a proceeding pending or impending before the judge would in any event require disqualification of the judge under Rule 2.11; (3) Ordinary social hospitality; (4) Commercial or financial opportunities and benefits, including special pricing and discounts, and loans from lending institutions in their regular course of business, if the same opportunities and benefits or loans are made available on the same terms to similarly situated persons who are not judges; (5) Rewards and prizes given to competitors or participants in random drawings, contests, or other events that are open to persons who are not judges; Scholarships, fellowships, and similar benefits or awards, if they are (6) available to similarly situated persons who are not judges, based upon the same terms and criteria; Books, magazines, journals, audiovisual materials, and other resource (7) materials supplied by publishers on a complimentary basis for official use; (8) Gifts, awards, or benefits associated with the business, profession, or other separate activity of a spouse, a domestic partner, or other member of the judge’s family residing in the judge’s household, but that incidentally benefit the judge, provided the gift, award, or benefit does not give the appearance of influencing the judge in his or her judicial duties or otherwise appear to a reasonable person to undermine the judge’s independence, integrity, or impartiality; A gift from a relative or friend for a social occasion, such as a wedding, (9) anniversary, or birthday, if the gift is commensurate with the relationship and occasion; (10) A gift incident to a public testimonial; 60 (11) An invitation to the judge and the judge’s spouse, domestic partner, or guest to attend without charge either of the following: An event associated with a bar-related function or other activity (a) related to the law, the legal system, or the administration of justice; (b) An event associated with any of the judge’s educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic activities permitted by this code, if the same invitation is offered to nonjudges who are engaged in similar ways in the activity as is the judge. (12) Any other thing of value, if the donor is neither of the following: A party or other person who has come or is likely to come or whose (a) interests have come or are likely to come before the judge; (b) A person who is doing or seeking to do business with the court. (B) A judge shall report the acceptance of any gift, loan, bequest, benefit, or other thing of value as required by Rule 3.15. Comment [1] Whenever a judge accepts a gift or other thing of value without paying fair market value, there is a risk that the benefit might be viewed as intended to influence the judge’s decision in a case. Rule 3.13 prohibits the acceptance of such benefits, except in circumstances where the risk of improper influence is low and subject to applicable financial disclosure requirements. See