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Jan. 08, 2008
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JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE COMMISSION: Judge faces misconduct charges

Complaint alleges Halverson fell asleep on bench, harassed employees

By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

THE CASE AGAINST JUDGE HALVERSON

The following summarizes the allegations against District Judge Elizabeth Halverson brought by the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission. The commission alleges Halverson violated numerous judicial canons.

COUNT ONE
Contacted a Family Court hearing master in an ex parte fashion "to gather information or transmit information" about an attorney representing a defendant who had cases before both Halverson and the hearing master.

COUNT TWO
Fell asleep on the bench in two criminal trials and one civil trial.

COUNT THREE
Engaged in improper contact with jurors deliberating a case without approval of attorneys involved. Claimed falsely to be "conned" or "encouraged" by the attorneys to do so.

COUNT FOUR
Failed to inform clerks about judicial procedures.

COUNTS FIVE THROUGH 10
Created a hostile work environment for various courthouse employees

COUNT 11
Allowed two unqualified people to access the courthouse and act as "security officers" or "bodyguards."

COUNT 12
Attempted to breach courthouse computer system to access e-mails of other employees.

COUNT 13
Made false statements to media regarding conduct of other district judges after a private meeting between the judges and Halverson.

COUNT 14
Impeded functions of Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle.

View the full formal statement of charges

Judge Elizabeth Halverson
Fourteen-count complaint filed

CARSON CITY -- Formal charges of judicial misconduct were filed Monday against suspended District Judge Elizabeth Halverson, just days after her attorneys argued her suspension should be lifted because proceedings were moving too slowly.

The Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission filed a 14-count complaint against the judge alleging she fell asleep on the bench, had improper contact with jurors and engaged in sexual and religious harassment against employees, among numerous other violations of the judicial canons.

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The complaint, filed by Dorothy Nash Holmes, special prosecutor for the Judicial Discipline Commission, also alleges Halverson created a hostile work environment for court employees and interfered in the administration of Clark County District Court by Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle.

Halverson could not be reached Monday for comment. The judge's husband, Edward Halverson, said his wife was unavailable when he was approached outside the couple's home near Tropicana Avenue and U.S. Highway 95.

She and her attorneys will have about 20 days to respond to the complaint.

A public hearing to consider the merit of the charges will be conducted by the commission, but a date has not been scheduled.

The formal statement of charges follows a July 25 decision by the Judicial Discipline Commission to temporarily ban Halverson from the bench for unprofessional behavior. The commission found that Halverson posed a substantial threat both of serious harm to the public and to the administration of justice.

That order of interim suspension was upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court on Nov. 1.

The court said in its opinion that "the cumulative effect of Judge Halverson's conduct was to seriously impair the functioning of the Eighth Judicial District Court."

But in the opinion, the Supreme Court also warned the commission to move forward with a formal case against the judge in an expeditious fashion, lest the interim suspension inappropriately take on a more permanent form of discipline.

Just last week lawyers for Halverson raised that very issue, filing a petition with the Supreme Court seeking to revoke her temporary suspension because the Judicial Discipline Commission had not yet filed formal charges.

Her attorney, Bill Gamage of Las Vegas, said Monday he would like to see the Supreme Court provide some relief to Halverson through the petition raising her due process complaint.

"We believe this has taken too long," he said.

Gamage said it shouldn't take much time to prepare a statement of charges, and questioned the timing of the latest action, given the effort begun last week to challenge the interim suspension in the Supreme Court.

In the petition, Halverson asks for all commission proceedings against her to be dismissed "due to its inexcusable dilatory actions" in her case.

Gamage said the matter in front of the Supreme Court will proceed regardless of what action the Judicial Discipline Commission takes.

John Arrascada, a Reno attorney also representing Halverson, called the timing of the charges "very curious," giving the two week filing period for judges that started Monday.

Arrascada said it is his understanding that Halverson will run for re-election.

"Her desire is to be a judge and serve the electorate that placed her on the bench," he said. "But the timing of this places her in a position with the electorate that not many people running for public office want to be in."

Halverson had indicated in September she would run for re-election despite her troubles. The filing period for judicial candidates started Monday and lasts through Jan. 18.

If she does run she already has an opponent. Las Vegas Family Court Judge Stefany Miley has announced she is running for the seat.

The formal statement of charges is similar to the allegations considered by the commission when it decided to temporarily suspend Halverson from the bench nearly six months ago.

Halverson, who continues to collect her $130,000-a-year salary while on suspension, was elected to Department 23 in 2006. Four months after taking the bench in January 2007, commission staff received documentation of concerns about her judicial performance and treatment of staff.

The complaint identifies three occasions when Halverson slept on the bench, during the judge's first civil trial in January 2007 and during criminal trials in February and March 2007.

In addition to having improper conversations with jurors in a child molestation case, the complaint alleges that Halverson made public comments to the media that could have affected the outcome of the case.

The sexual harassment claims arise from Halverson's alleged treatment of her former bailiff, Johnnie Jordan. In addition to touching Jordan, Halverson required him to heat and serve her meals, to spy on other court employees and to assist in putting on and taking off her shoes. She also yelled at him and called him names, according to the complaint.

The complaint also alleges religious harassment by Halverson in referring to her then-law clerk as a "faux Jew" in the presence of another member of her court staff. She made the same comment about an attorney, according to the complaint.

She is also accused of yelling at and using foul language aimed at court staff, and for hiring personal security without informing the chief judge.

Hardcastle in May barred Halverson from the Regional Justice Center, claiming she put courthouse security at risk when she brought her two personal bodyguards into secured areas of the courthouse.

That move prompted Halverson to seek intervention from the Nevada Supreme Court, which allowed Halverson to return to work where she continued to hear civil cases until her interim suspension was announced in July.

The Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission was created in 1976 to investigate allegations of judicial misconduct or disability. The judicial commission can impose various forms of punishment, ranging from a reprimand to removal from office.

It is composed of seven members: two judges appointed by the Nevada Supreme Court, two attorneys appointed by the State Bar of Nevada's Board of Governors, and three lay people appointed by the governor.

Contact Review-Journal Capital Bureau writer Sean Whaley at (775) 687-3900 or swhaley@reviewjournal.com.Review-Journal writer Brian Haynes contributed to this report.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Ladeda wrote on August 14, 2008 12:18 PM: Oh boy!!! I'm looking at Judge Halverson's hearing on Court TV, and it does not look good. Halverson failed sleep during the part of the procedure! fyi wrote on January 11, 2008 12:45 PM: U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 Criminal Division Office of Enforcement Operations, Director, 202-514-6809 Public Integrity Section, Chief, 202-514-1412 'The Public Integrity Section oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government. The Section has exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of federal judges and also monitors the investigation and prosecution of election and conflict of interest crimes. Section attorneys prosecute selected cases against federal, state, and local officials, and are available as a source of advice and expertise to other prosecutors and investigators. Since 1978, the Section has supervised the administration of the Independent Counsel provisions of the Ethics in Government Act.' Alan DiCicco wrote on January 11, 2008 05:55 AM: After all the ignored corruption, judicial cannon violations and constitutional violations that have been going on in Las Vegas Family Court for decades, it sure is convenient for the good 'ol boys and girls to have a sacrificial lamb, Judge Halverson, to slaughter rather than look at and prosecute the true corruption in all the family kangaroo courtrooms. How about Judge Steve Jones? How about Judge Art Ritchie? How about all the others? How about the corrupt attorneys? This is the same tactic attorneys use in court; they take the focus off the true issues and focus on irrelevant matters to obtain a contrived outcome. Perhaps if Jones would have fallen asleep in some hearings more justice would have been administered rather than deals with his attorney friends that destroyed familes and children. We will never stop; there are thousands of us. Alan DiCicco, Founder Coalition for Family Court Reform PO BOX 7013 Kingman, AZ 86413 www.familycourtreform.org 928-303-3173 Michael Ray Thompson wrote on January 10, 2008 01:57 PM: Boy, Judge Halverson is a grain wreck. She is totally unfit to serve on the bench. I'm not sure. I hope she's a democrat. LasVegasEyes wrote on January 09, 2008 10:53 PM: What I would like to know why it is that everyone is going on about how fat Halverson is. Has anyone taken good look at Cherry and Gibbons.. wait a minute how could you not.. They are HUGE. Those big boys are easily wearing a size 60. BIG Boys shop anyone? So, are we saying because Halverson is a woman we should care more about her size? Apparently so, since the corrupt big boy dynamic duo...Fat Man and Rotund seem to not have a comment made about their mighty girth. PLEASEEEEEeeeeeeeeeee... STOP THE INSANITY. Can you say double standard? Not to mention.. Cherry getting special favor Superbowl tickets...I suspect several comped meals at the buffet as well. As for Gibbons...his sealed court case, and his unconstitutional ruling in the Guinn case is not a threat to the administration of justice. OMG.. this is so damn funny... LOL... Total craziness... Viva Las Vegas..... UNBELIEVABLE wrote on January 09, 2008 03:11 PM: I second the NOTION. All in favor say "aye"! undr cvr wrote on January 09, 2008 12:04 PM: exactly LasVegasAnne wrote on January 09, 2008 11:16 AM: Undr Cvr: What I would like to know is why would this committee have non legal members? What would they know about the law? This is such a joke. Of course they are all connected. This is why Halverson does not stand a chance. They ARE all connected. One will never go against the other. They have made the decision that Halverson did not "Fit" (no pun intended) in their tight little circle. So, she is done. They have crucified her. Very much the mob mentality. Spear headed by Hardcastle. But this is much larger than Hardcastle. Frankly she is being used as much as Halverson. They don't want Halverson in the circle because she talks to much and cannot be controlled. Good or bad.. that is the truth. They cannot control her. She knows to much. SO... she's out. Any of you out there thinking this cannot be the case, think again. It is very much the case. How could they completely ignore Spoor's activites yet dismiss Halverson for alledgly being mean to her staff? LAUGHABLE. Dismissing a Judge for being mean. LOL Dismissing a Judge for bad language. If that were the case Judge Judy should have been dismissed years ago. It is laughable that 2 of the charges consit of her saying that Judge Bell was yelling and he was not. LOL.. Was Nash there? How does she know he was not yelling. Oh wait, because some second rate news paper columist said so. Yeah, that makes it truth. This is so funny watching this cast of fools. Halverson may take the fall, but truly folks.. there is far more going on here. Wake up. undr cvr wrote on January 09, 2008 10:45 AM: Mission Statement http://judicial.state.nv.us/purposescjeep3new.htm Members http://judicial.state.nv.us/biosscjeep3new.htm connect the dots folks!! Gene Gentry wrote on January 09, 2008 10:44 AM: Dorothy Holmes Nash should be embarrassed to turn in that complaint against Halverson. It is picky, ignorant, filled with bogus garbage. It clearly looks like they are digging for whatever they can find. None of it with any merit. Everything in that brief could be said about any Judges at the RJC, and the Supreme Court for that matter. It took Nash 8 months to file this piece of dribble. There is nothing in this document that is not a regurgitation of what has been said all along. By the way, much of the allegations come from Spoor who is as dirty as they come. Yeah I believe a ticket fixer and a Jury tamperer who is so far up the behinds of court administration. Hey, whatever happened to those files with the fixed tickets? LOL.. Who the heck is Johnny Jordon?? Why should we believe him. Has anyone investigated his background? If he is so weak that he would do the things alleged and not talk to anyone, then I have got to question if he is mentally stable. Only in Las Vegas could people get away with this nonsense. Funny how they waited till the election filing period to submit these bogus charges. NOT. Judge Halverson.. not everyone buys into this garbage. There are some of us intelligent enough to see past the smoke and mirrors. BTW.. I would vote for you again in a heartbeat. Don't let these sick old fools stop you. Read All Comments