Suspended Nevada Judge Seeks TRO to Stop Disclipinary Hearing
Updated: An embattled Nevada judge was reportedly shouting “no!” during a Las Vegas disciplinary hearing yesterday, and planned to be in federal court today seeking a temporary restraining order to put a stop to the case.
Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Halverson refused to accept any blame for her alleged misconduct during her testimony yesterday before the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, according to a local NBC affiliate, KVBC News 3. She is accused of falling asleep during trials, creating a hostile work environment for her staff and having improper conversations with jurors. However, Halverson says her political enemies have conspired to sabotage her judicial career.
A hearing is scheduled today in federal court in Las Vegas on Halverson’s TRO filing. In it, she contends that the commission violated her constitutional rights, obtained evidence illegally and has withheld from her information that she needs to defend herself, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
She also petitioned the Nevada Supreme Court, seeking to halt the disciplinary hearing, reports the Associated Press.
In the first day of the disciplinary hearing on Monday, a veteran prosecutor testified that she had seen the judge fall asleep at a trial, AP says. In emotional testimony the same day, Halverson’s former bailiff said she treated him like a personal slave, as discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.
A special prosecutor trying the disciplinary case has complained that Halverson isn’t cooperating with the process, as another ABAJournal.com post discusses.
“In the meantime, Judge Halverson did get a bit of good news Tuesday. The special prosecutor withdrew one of the charges after the presiding officer ruled there could be some constitutional issues at play,” reports a local CBS affiliate.
Since this post was written, the federal court has denied Halverson’s petition to halt the disciplinary hearing, an ABC affiliate reports.
Updated at 4 p.m., central time, to include ABC news report.
