Family court judge fights conduct counts
Family Court Judge Steven Jones filed a response late Thursday challenging the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline's authority to take action against him over a romantic relationship last year with a prosecutor.
Jones also denied the allegations in a Dec. 21 complaint accusing him of violating Nevada's Judicial Code of Conduct in his handling of the relationship, first disclosed in a 2011 Las Vegas Review-Journal story.
The prosecutor, former Deputy District Attorney Lisa Willardson, "actively litigated cases" in the longtime judge's courtroom while the relationship took place, and Jones failed to disqualify himself from cases involving her, the 12-count complaint alleges.
The code, designed to maintain the public's confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, among other things, requires judges to refrain from allowing personal relationships to influence conduct on the bench.
In a five-page response, Las Vegas attorney James Jimmerson moved to dismiss all of the counts against Jones.
He said the commission "has exceeded its jurisdiction" in the case and "does not have power to discipline" the judge.
Jimmerson also said the complaint is too vague, does not allege any legitimate grounds for discipline and is based on an "improper investigation."
The commission suspended Jones, 54, with pay in November while he faces an unrelated federal indictment in what authorities allege was a $3 million investment fraud scheme. He is free on his own recognizance in that case.
Former District Attorney David Roger asked the commission to investigate the relationship between Jones and Willardson.
Roger removed Willardson from child abuse and neglect cases before Jones after the relationship became public in October 2011.
The complaint alleges Jones violated the Judicial Code of Conduct by interfering with Roger's effort to move Willardson out of the district attorney's child welfare unit. Willardson was fired.
Jones also is accused of violating the rules of impartiality when he banned two of the unit's deputies from his courtroom after they helped expose the relationship.
The complaint charges that Jones also violated the rules when he helped Willardson prepare a legal document for the State Bar of Nevada. Roger had filed a complaint against Willardson with the bar over the relationship.
By law, the Judicial Discipline Commission must hold a hearing on the allegations in its complaint within 60 days.
Willardson last month said the charges against Jones are the product of a "political witch hunt by a vindictive and biased group."
She said she never litigated a case before Jones after meeting him for lunch, and video recordings of the judge's courtroom support her statement.
Jones, 54, first elected to Family Court in 1992, was charged in the federal indictment with using the power of his office to carry out the investment fraud scheme over a decade.
The scheme is alleged to have begun in 2002.
Among those indicted with Jones is his former brother-in-law, Thomas A. Cecrle Jr.
They and four other defendants face several charges, including conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
Contact reporter Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.
