Source: Controversial Las Vegas judge nominated self for grand jury before suspension

A controversial Las Vegas judge nominated herself to serve on a grand jury weeks before her unpaid suspension from the bench, according to a source.

District Judge Erika Ballou nominated herself at a Sept. 10 judges’ meeting, the source said. In order to do so, she would have received notice by mail that she was selected as a potential grand juror and returned a form.

Grand juries are panels that hear testimony, see evidence and have the power to return indictments charging defendants with crimes.

The grand jury selection process is governed by state law that requires court clerks in counties with 100,000 or more people to mail prospective grand jurors a questionnaire until they can find “100 qualified persons who are willing to serve.”

The list of people who have agreed to serve then goes to district judges, who meet and select proposed grand jurors, according to the statute.

The judge in charge of impaneling the grand jury picks “at random” 17 people to be on the grand jury and 14 alternates, the law says.

District Court spokesperson Mary Ann Price said Ballou has not been chosen for the grand jury, which will be finalized Oct. 2.

Six-month suspension

Ballou, who had been accused of defying the Nevada Supreme Court, was suspended from the bench by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline for six months without pay beginning Tuesday.

Her attorney Tom Pitaro declined to comment on the grand jury aspect, but said of Ballou’s discipline: “I think the decision was wrong and the punishment was excessive.”

Scott Coffee, a former public defender, said he didn’t have a problem with Ballou serving on a grand jury absent a legal prohibition. Some judges have sat on regular juries, he said.

Grand jurors should not simply be “rubber stamps” for the state, he said, adding: “There’s supposed to be a diversity of opinion. She’s conscientious and that’s important.”

Other lawyers were critical of Ballou’s reported self-nomination to the grand jury.

“I just don’t think she’s thought it all out,” said attorney Robert Langford, a defense attorney who has also worked as a prosecutor.

A judge would influence other grand jurors improperly, he said, adding that he hoped Ballou would withdraw her name.

Creates a conflict of interest, former district attorney says

Frank Coumou, another former prosecutor, said it sounded like a conflict of interest for a judge to sit on a grand jury.

“I’ve never, ever heard of something like this,” he said.

Former Clark County district attorney David Roger also saw problems.

Judges are supposed to avoid potential conflicts, he said, but sitting as a grand juror creates one. If a judge votes not to indict, it creates the impression they’re partial to the defense, he said, and if they vote to indict, they appear partial to the prosecution.

Roger also serves as an attorney for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association union, which previously called on Ballou to resign after comments she made about police.

Those comments — “You’re a Black man in America, you know you don’t want to be around where cops are,” and, “I know I don’t, and I’m a middle-aged, middle-class Black woman. I don’t want to be around where cops are, because I don’t know if I’m going to walk away alive or not” — as well as social media posts led to Ballou being censured by the judicial discipline commission last year.

In the more recent judicial discipline case, Ballou was accused of ordering prisoner Mia Christman’s release and failing to order Christman be taken into custody when the Nevada Supreme Court reversed her ruling.

Chief District Judge Jerry Wiese removed Ballou from all criminal cases in May, days after a public defender said the judge should be disqualified, in part for baselessly claiming the attorney was “ ‘f------’ her client.”

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.