COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court has issued a public reprimand for a Council Bluffs magistrate who wore his judicial robes in advertisements for his services as a private attorney. The Council Bluff Nonpareil reports that the state’s high court issued the reprimand Friday against Judicial Magistrate Clarence B. Meldrum Jr.

The Supreme Court noted that, beginning in 2009, Meldrum placed the advertisements in phone books. In his defense, Meldrum had said he never intended to imply that he “could pull any strings” for clients as a magistrate. He said he only wanted to show that he held a responsible public position.

But the high court said the ads violated the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct.