By BlogonautElisabeth Halverson, the bizarre 500 pound Las Vegas judge who has provoked national ridicule from legal bloggers and commentators alike, has lost her Nevada Supreme Court bid to be reinstated to the bench pending the outcome of proceedings initiated against her by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline (Commission).
Those of you unfamiliar with this bizarre saga can read about it’s hilarious background here, here, here, and here.
In the advance opinion released by the Court today, Nevada’s only appellate tribunal not only rejected Judge Halverson’s procedural objections to the interim order suspending her—along with her claim that the Commission had no legal authority to suspend her before filing formal charges—the Court found that the Commission’s unprecedented interim judicial suspension was amply supported by the evidence.
Judge Halverson’s interim suspension was unprecedented, because a Nevada judge had never before been benched before disciplinary charges were resolved without being convicted of a crime.
The Court pointed to evidence of malfeasance by Halverson falling into several categories:
Ex parte contact with juries
“Here, the record reveals that Judge Halverson persistently engaged in improper contact with juries that were deliberating in cases tried in her department…..Further, Judge Halverson’s continuation of her improper behavior, after having been advised by another district judge to avoid ex parte jury contact, warranted the Commission’s conclusion that her conduct was unlikely to improve, thus supporting the imposition of a temporary suspension, at least with respect to criminal cases.”
Abusive conduct toward staff
“In this case, the record reveals that Judge Halverson frequently yelled at her staff, regularly used vulgarities, and on several occasions employed pejorative racial, ethnic, or religious terms. Witness testimony also indicates that Judge Halverson publicly humiliated her former bailiff on several occasions.”
Evidence that Judge Halverson fell asleep on the bench
‘[T]estimony at the hearing, although disputed, indicated that Judge Halverson fell asleep “every day.” In addition, with respect to the one occasion that Judge Halverson admits to falling asleep, the record reveals that she offered three different explanations at different times to different people: an adverse reaction to medication, low blood sugar, and a blood pressure problem."
Failure to cooperate with court administration
“Here, testimony at the hearing reveals a panoply of behavior by Judge Halverson that disrupted the Eighth Judicial District Court’s functioning…Her retention of private security guards and her subsequent 9-1-1 call to local police wrought a degree of havoc with court administration on that particular day. Her staff difficulties required the attention of four fellow judges (the three judges on the committee and the chief judge), and yet her behavior did not improve until after she was served with the Commission’s original interim suspension order….the record reflects that Judge Halverson’s actions necessitated extensive efforts by other judges and court administrators to accommodate her shortcomings in an attempt to maintain the district court’s proper functioning. The record reflects that, rather than supporting these efforts, Judge Halverson refused offers of assistance.”
Zing!
Read the full slip opinion here.
Background reading:
Above The Law-Elizabeth Halverson Archives
(ABA Journal Articles)
Bailiff Tells of Judge’s Shooting Remarks
You’re NOT the Boss of Me
Nev. Judge Suspended, Poses ‘Substantial Threat,’ Commission Finds
Observers Agog Over Nev. Judge Saga
Rookie Judge Reportedly Investigated
2 comments:
I followed this hearing almost every day on TruTV formerly CourtTV. The fact that she was a very large person, in a wheelchair, and on oxygen, really has nothing to do with it. The woman is a "piece of work". Every witness to the fact she mis-treated them, etc...was very believable, especially after her own testamony. The way she acted, her tone of voice used, being defensive, combative, did not help her case at all. We had a small insight of the way she probably handled cases. She thinks she is "above" and it shows. She is an embarrasment to the Justice system.
Remove her for good.
What a piece of work this lady is...she is cocky, rude and thinks she has every right to talk down to people. I hope they never reinstate her again.
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