Judges Commons^™

The Appearance Of Fairness Doctrine: A Conflict In Values, Carolyn M. Van Noy

Washington Law Review

This Comment compares the appearance of fairness doctrine with the Washington State Code of Judicial Conduct and shows that abandoning the doctrine and substituting the Code and due process would not resolve the conflict between independence and accountability, but would further exacerbate it. Rather, the appearance of fairness doctrine, modified by the 1982 appearance of fairness statute, is a standard that accommodates the conflict inherent in any bias standard applied to elected and appointed officials. The legislative modifications, however, fall short of the need for a clearly defined doctrine that provides guidance and certainty for the decisionmakers and the courts. …