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Ronald Primo Iacobucci candidate for Governor’s Councillor in the Massachusetts 4th District today announced that he will work to repeal the 2007 law that permits members of the Governor’s Council to appear before judges whose appointments they voted to confirm.
“It is time to put an end to this conflict. It comes down to a choice between public service or making money, you can’t have both,” said Iacobucci. “Allowing members of the Governor’s Council to appear before judges whose appointments they have approved creates an appearance of undue influence and potential bias. The repeal of this act is intended to eliminate that appearance and strengthens ethical safeguards,” said Iacobucci.
While this exemption may have been intended to allow Council members to maintain their professional livelihoods, it has created a structural conflict that undermines public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of our judicial system.
The integrity of the judiciary depends not only on actual fairness, but also on the appearance of fairness. When an attorney who participated in confirming a judge appearsbefore that same judge, a reasonable observer may question whether the proceeding is truly impartial. Even in the absence of actual bias, the perception of undue influence can damage trust in judicial outcomes.
Members of the Council hold a unique constitutional role in Massachusetts: they directly influence who becomes a judge. Allowing those same individuals to later advocate before those judges creates an inherent tension between their public duties and private interests.
This is not a question of individual integrity, but of systemic design. While current ethics laws prohibit the misuse of official position, they do not address the more subtle dynamics of influence, access, and perceived obligation. Judges may feel implicit pressure, and litigants may reasonably fear that they are at a disadvantage.
The law should eliminate these concerns, not rely on after-the-fact enforcement.
The proposed repeal does not prevent members of the Council from practicing law. Instead, it establishes a reasonable boundary to ensure that they do not appear before judges whose appointments they influenced. This approach balances professional flexibility with the need to preserve public confidence in the justice system.
“For these reasons, I respectfully urge the Legislature to repeal the 2007 exemption and restore clear ethical boundaries. Doing so will strengthen the integrity of the judiciary, protect litigants, and reaffirm Massachusetts’ commitment to fair and impartial justice,” said Iacobucci.
(Submtted by Mr. Iacobucci) Note, Franklin is in the 5th Governor's Council District.
