500LB VEGAS JUDGE ASKS NEVADA SUPREME COURT TO END HER ‘TEMPORARY’ SUSPENSION

BREAKING NEWS

By: Blogonaut

500 pound, scooter driven Las Vegas judge Elizabeth Halverson is not only living proof that what happens in Vegas dosen’t always stay in Vegas, she is a blogger’s comedic gift that just keeps on giving.

Legal blog Above the Law has written more about Halverson’s foibles than any other judge. (See this ALT post.) The American Bar Association’s legal blog has also extensively chronicled the misadventures of the 500 lb Vegas jurist. (See, Observers Agog Over Nev. Judge Saga, You’re NOT the Boss of Me, and Bailiff Tells of Judge’s Shooting Remarks.) We have also posted about her, and Her hometown news paper has referred to her as “Jabba the Judge”.

For those of you not already familiar with this bizarre and hilarious example of everything a judge should not be (among many other things): Halverson is married to an ex-prison felon, fell asleep on the bench, liked to dine with deliberating jurors, had her yard cited by Clark County for being a “health hazard and public nuisance”, asked her bailiff to rub her feet and even shoot her husband (who she refers to as “bitch”), is having her judicial wages garnished under a $40,000 judgment against her for unpaid rent, and committed other misdeeds—all in her first year on the bench.

And then there was the long running feud with Clark County Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle, culminating in Hardcastle banning Halverson from the courthouse as a “security risk” and the Nevada Supreme Court granting Halverson’s petition to be allowed back in. (The Supreme Court let stand Hardcastle’s order stripping Halverson of her criminal calendar.)

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline stepped into the fray and suspended Halverson from office pending its investigation of numerous ethics complaints filed against the humungous jurist, in order to "protect the public".

On November 1, 2007, the Nevada Supreme Court let the interim suspension stand, but hinted that if Halverson’s temporary suspension continued for an unreasonable length of time without charges being filed, it would reconsider lifting it.

The other (very large) shoe dropped last Friday, when Halverson—through Vegas mega lawyer Dominic Gentile—filed an emergency request to lift the suspension with the Nevada Supreme Court.

Since Halverson’s term is about to expire, no disciplinary charges have yet issued from the Commission, and Halverson must file papers by January 18, 2008 if she intends to run for reelection, last Friday’s Hail Mary legal maneuver is probably Halverson’s last and only real shot at holding on to her courtroom.

We wish her well; she is a blogger’s dream!
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