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RULE 18-202.2. IMPARTIALITY AND FAIRNESS

West's Annotated Code of MarylandMaryland Rules

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Maryland Rules
Title 18. Judges and Judicial Appointees
Chapter 200. Maryland Code of Conduct for Judicial Appointees
Rules Governing the Performance of a Judicial Appointee's Duties [Rules 18-202.1 to 18-202.16]
MD Rules Judges, Rule 18-202.2
RULE 18-202.2. IMPARTIALITY AND FAIRNESS
(a) A judicial appointee shall uphold and apply the law and shall perform all duties of the position impartially and fairly.
(b) A judicial appointee may make reasonable efforts, consistent with the Maryland Rules and other law, to facilitate the ability of all litigants, including self-represented litigants, to be fairly heard.
COMMENT
[1] To ensure impartiality and fairness to all parties, a judicial appointee must be objective and open-minded.
[2] Although each judicial appointee comes to the position with a unique background and personal philosophy, a judicial appointee must interpret and apply the law without regard to whether the judicial appointee approves or disapproves of the law in question.
[3] When applying and interpreting the law, a judicial appointee sometimes may make good-faith errors of fact or law. Errors of this kind do not violate this Rule.
Cross reference: See Rule 18-202.6 Comment [2].
Source: This Rule is derived in part from former Rule 2.2 of Rule 16-814 (2016) and is in part new.

Credits

[Adopted June 6, 2016, eff. July 1, 2016.]
MD Judges, Rule 18-202.2, MD R JUDGES Rule 18-202.2
Current with amendments received through February 1, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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