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May 17, 2010
Little Recusal Plan

Recusal Policy for the Rhode Island Attorney General Public confidence in the integrity of the office of the Attorney General is indispensable to the ability of the Attorney General and his or her staff to be effective law enforcement officers and advocates for the citizens of Rhode Island. High standards of conduct must be established, maintained and enforced. For ease of understanding, the term “Attorney” in this Recusal Policy will be used to refer to the Attorney General and his or her staff. In addition to adhering to the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and the Rhode Island Code of Ethics in Government, the Attorney must be particularly sensitive to appearances of impropriety which could undermine public confidence. Accordingly, the Attorney should be recused from all involvement in any matter, criminal or civil, where the Attorney has a direct conflict of interest, as well as under any of the following circumstances: 1. the adverse party is a person or entity that made a campaign contribution of any kind to the Attorney during the preceding four years; 2. the adverse party is an employer from whom the Attorney, or his or her spouse and/or dependent child, received any income during the preceding four years; 3. the adverse party is any business, profit or non-profit, in which the Attorney, his or her spouse and/or dependent child, holds or has held during the current or the prior calendar year, a position as a director, officer, partner, trustee or manager; 4. the adverse party is a person, business entity or other organization that made gifts or contributions in excess of $25 in cash or property to Attorney during the current or prior calendar year; 5. the adverse party is a business in which the Attorney, or his or her spouse and/or dependent child, holds any ownership or investment interest (excepting any publicly traded company in which the interest held is valued at less than $5,000); 6. the Attorney, or his or her spouse and/or dependent child, is indebted to the adverse party in any amount; and 7. the Attorney and the adverse party have a personal relationship which would reasonably raise a question concerning propriety of the Attorney’s involvement in the matter in question. The Attorney General shall designate one of the Department’s most senior assistants (who has served at least through the term of two or more Attorneys General) to act as Chief Ethics Officer for the Department. All issues and actions pertaining to implementation of this policy, including issues as to whether the Attorney should or should not recuse from involvement in a proceeding will be referred to the Chief Ethics Officer for his or her advisory determination. Records shall be maintained by the Chief Ethics Officer and, except as otherwise provided by the Rhode Island Public Access to Records Act, shall be available for review and inspection by the public. In addition, the Attorney General will request the Supreme Court to designate a senior member of the Rhode Island Bar, which may include a retired judge, to serve in an advisory capacity to the Chief Ethics Officer. The impartial advisor may be requested to provide interpretations and guidance as to when the Attorney must recuse him or herself from involvement in a proceeding consistent with the overall policies and guidelines that this Code is intended to fulfill. To the extent any provision of this Recusal Policy is inconsistent with the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Rhode Island Supreme Court or with the Rhode Island Code of Ethics in Government, the conflicting provisions of the Rules or the Code of Ethics, as the case may be, will take precedence.

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