Las Vegas judge banned from bench after handcuffing public defender
Ousted Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Conrad Hafen will never again serve as a judge in Nevada, according to the state’s Commission on Judicial Discipline.
Hafen also agreed to public censure and admitted that he violated judicial canons, according to the resolution posted online Monday as the result of four complaints filed with the commission.
He specifically admitted he failed to “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary,” did not uphold the law and “perform all duties of his judicial office fairly and impartially” and was not “patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, court staff, court officials and others he dealt with in his official capacity.”
Hafen drew criticism from groups of defense attorneys after ordering a lawyer handcuffed in court in May.
The commission noted that another judge later overturned a contempt finding against Zohra Bakhtary, the deputy public defender who was handcuffed on Hafen’s orders.
Bakhtary was left to sit silently in the courtroom for about three minutes while her client was sent to jail for six months on a larceny charge. Hafen should have allowed the defendant or his lawyer to be heard, according to the resolution the former judge reached with the commission
The commission pointed to three other incidents prior to Bakhtary being handcuffed:
■ In December 2014, Hafen failed to file an order of contempt against a defendant given 50 days in jail for disruption in the courtroom.
■ A year later, Hafen failed to file a similar order for a man sent to jail for 10 days while he tried to represent himself at trial.
■ In April 2016, Hafen sentenced a woman to 25 days after she “started screaming and yelling” at the judge, and he again failed to file a contempt order.
Hafen, who in June lost a bid for re-election, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.
