Supreme Judicial Court Rules  Rule 3.3 Testifying as a character witness

A judge shall not testify as a character witness in a judicial, administrative, or other adjudicatory proceeding or otherwise vouch for the character of a person in a legal proceeding, except when duly summoned.

[1]

A judge who, without being subpoenaed, testifies as a character witness lends the prestige of judicial office to advance the interests of another. See Rule 1.3. Except in unusual circumstances where the demands of justice require, a judge should discourage a party from requiring the judge to testify as a character witness.

[2]

This Rule does not preclude a judge from voluntarily testifying or otherwise vouching for the qualifications, including the character, of an applicant or nominee for judicial or court-related office, as long as the judge’s observations are based on the judge’s personal knowledge. See Rule 1.3.

[3]

This Rule does not preclude a judge from providing a character reference based on personal knowledge for an applicant to the bar of any state.

[4]

This Rule does not preclude a judge from responding based on personal knowledge to an inquiry from any state or federal entity, or a contractor for such an entity, conducting a background investigation in connection with an application for public employment or for security clearance.