(Reuters) – The use of special license plates by New York judges is ethical, a state ethics panel has concluded, as the state Commission on Judicial Conduct nears completion on a review of whether judges use the plates to avoid traffic tickets.

 In a three-paragraph opinion released last week, the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics said that while it is improper for judges to use the “prestige” of their office to advance private interests, special license plates do not rise to that level. The decision was prompted by an inquiry from an unnamed judge.

 “The otherwise lawful display of a license plate duly issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is not rendered ethically impermissible merely because the license plate indicates that the vehicle registrant is a judge,” wrote the 26-member panel, which is chaired by former First Department justice George Marlow. For the complete story see:

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/09_-_September/Special_license_plates_for_NY_judges_are_ethical__panel/. Although the plates create no ethical issue there are security concerns about the use of special plates for judges or vanity plates that indicate that you are a judge. See the previous post by Timm Fautsko of the National Center for State Courts.