Judicial officers must remain independent, impartial, and unbiased to both sides to a dispute throughout all phases of the case. Judicial officers cannot take sides with any one party to a dispute or act as the lawyer for either party. The Court is not a legal services office. If a judicial officer or the court staff assists either party with the preparation and presentation of his or her case, then the judicial officer has become biased and partial, and has compromised the integrity of the Court. Furthermore, communications with a party must be in the presence of all other opposing parties. There cannot be private, one-sided conversations with a judicial officer. This is known as the prohibition against ex parte communications. Finally, a judicial officer must remain independent from all influence. Suggestions that the judicial officer will not get your vote, or that you will publicly criticize the judicial officer, or that you will write a letter to the editor, or that you will report the judicial officer to the authorities will not influence the judicial officer’s decision, nor will it open the lines of communication to the judicial officer. The Canons of Judicial Conduct govern each of these topics concerning judicial independence, impartiality, and communications concerning a case. Please refer to Canon 1(A), Canon 2(B), Canon 3(B)(2), Canon 3(B)(5), and Canon 3(B)(8)