On Tuesday, May 5, 2026, The Florida Bar reported that the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee (JEAC) issued an opinion stating that a judicial candidate is permitted to use a photograph in their campaign materials depicting the candidate being sworn in as a member of The Florida Bar by a retired judge. The JEAC released Opinion Number 2026-02 on April 30, outlining the parameters of this decision.
The committee clarified that while it had previously advised against using photographs of judges in campaign materials or on websites, this case is different because the retired judge is now a practicing attorney. As a practicing attorney, the retired judge is not subject to recall to active judicial service and, therefore, is no longer bound by the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct.
The JEAC stated that because the retired judge is not subject to the Code, they are free to endorse any candidate without violating Canon 2B, which prevents judges from lending the prestige of judicial office to advance private interests. The ethics panel added that the candidate is free to accept the endorsement since it does not come from a sitting judge or a partisan endorsement from an elected official running for election.
The JEAC acknowledged that a photograph of the retired judge in judicial robes might initially seem improper, but concluded that it is permissible under the circumstances. The committee emphasized that the photograph is not misleading because it accurately depicts the retired judge wearing a judicial robe at a time when they were a judge, and the retired judge is indeed endorsing the candidate and did swear the candidate into The Florida Bar.
The panel also noted that it had previously ruled that a candidate could publicize an endorsement from a retired judge, identifying the endorser as a former judge.
Source: The Florida Bar
