Advisory Opinion No. 1994-22
State Employees May Not Accept
Outside
Employment As
Probate Judge
Probate judges are part of the judicial branch of state
government, elected by district, every four years, at state elections. See Article Fifth of the Constitution
of the State of Canon 3 of the Code of Probate Judicial Conduct, to which
all probate judges are subject, states unequivocally that [t]he judicial
duties of a [probate] judge take precedence over all his other
activities. The State Ethics Commission,
pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84(b), finds that a state employee may not
accept outside employment which would require him or her to relegate, to a
subordinate role, his or her responsibilities as a state employee. If elected as a probate judge, a state
employee must choose between continuing his or her state employment and
fulfilling his or her judicial responsibilities. The Commission notes in closing that a classified state
employee seeking any elective state office must be aware of Conn. Gen. Stat.
§5-266a(c), which provides that [a]ny person employed in the classified state
service . . . who accepts any elective state office shall resign from such
employment upon taking such office. Although the State Ethics Commission does not administer such statute,
inquiries concerning the application of §5-266a(c) may be directed to the
Office of the Attorney General. By order of the Commission, R.E. VanNorstrand
Chairperson