Attorney wants Nevada judge disqualified, in part because of affair rumors

A public defender is seeking the disqualification of embattled District Judge Erika Ballou from all of her cases, arguing, in part, that the judge baselessly accused her of having a sexual relationship with a client.

“Judge Ballou has demonstrated a deep-seated antagonism toward me that makes fair judgment impossible,” Deputy Public Defender Anna Stone said in an affidavit filed Friday.

Stone said that in addition to suggesting her representation of a client was tied to a non-existent sexual relationship, Ballou — a former public defender — has refused to explain her reasoning when making decisions and did not allow Stone to “make a record about a custody issue implicating a client’s fundamental right to liberty.”

Public defender’s office leaders supported Stone’s filing of the affidavit, the attorney wrote.

Tom Pitaro, a lawyer for Ballou, and a court spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment Monday evening.

Ballou has a history of controversy. She faces a pending judicial discipline case in which she is accused of violating Nevada’s code of judicial conduct and Nevada Supreme Court rulings, was publicly censured last year and was previously the subject of an attempt to remove her from all Clark County district attorney’s office cases.

Defender’s allegations

Stone said she appeared before Ballou on Jan. 15 for an arraignment. Her client, Dshawn Cross, had made a deal in which he would plead guilty to a felony — attempted residential burglary — and have another case dismissed. Prosecutors would not oppose giving him a sentence of credit for time served, according to Stone.

Ballou did not want to sentence Cross that day, as the attorneys involved requested, Stone said, and initally rejected the release of Cross pending sentencing so he could attend a funeral.

“I then asked Judge Ballou to provide a reason for denying my request, and Judge Ballou expressly refused,” Stone wrote in the affidavit.

“I stated that I believed the court’s refusal to provide a reason would violate the Defendant’s right to due process and constitute an abuse of discretion. Judge Ballou still did not provide a reason for refusing to release the Defendant.”

Stone said she conferred with the prosecutor on the case, who agreed to the release of Cross once he made his plea. When the case was called again, Ballou accepted Cross’ plea and released him with ankle monitoring, according to the affidavit.

Problems with the monitoring of Cross, who was homeless, led to multiple hearings, Stone said, and Ballou eventually remanded him into custody.

Deputy Public Defender Dan Cho said in an affidavit that on Feb. 12, he represented Cross in place of Stone.

“After the end of calendar, Judge Ballou described Mr. Cross as the case for which ‘Anna Stone has lost all credibility in front of me.’”

‘Dislike and antagonism’

Deputy Public Defender Abigail Stanley said that on March 17 Stone argued Cross’ “inability to keep his device charged is a result of his homelessness and indigency.”

Ballou and a prosecutor complained about Stone after the end of the calendar that day, Stanley said in her own affidavit.

The judge “inquired as to what Ms. Stone’s ‘problem’ was and why she had such an ‘attitude,’” Stanley wrote. “During this conversation, Judge Ballou accused Ms. Stone of ‘f—-ing’ her client” and said if that was true, it would explain why Stone knew about Cross’ living situation and issues with monitoring.

In both cases, Cho and Stanley said Ballou was still on the bench when she made her comments about Stone.

Stone said Ballou’s allegation amounted to “sexual harassment, apparently in retaliation for the lawyer’s advocacy for her client.”

“After Judge Ballou made her accusation, my client suffered by being remanded back into custody at a hearing where Judge Ballou rolled her eyes, twice, during my argument for why my homeless client should stay out of custody,” she wrote. “Though her nonverbal conduct during these proceedings may not, alone, be indicative of bias, when viewed in conjunction with her other conduct toward me, it showed a level of dislike and antagonism that has affected her rulings.”

Ballou sentenced Cross to time served, Stone said. During the April 7 sentencing, Ballou told Cross it was Stone’s “fault he was in custody,” the attorney said, which scared another client who witnessed the sentencing, according to the affidavit.

Stone made her filing in another case in which a defendant named Jermaine Garner has pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle. In Garner’s case, Stone said Ballou refused to let her make a record in court without explaining why.

Past and present controversy

It’s not the first time Ballou has been accused of misconduct or faced an attempt to prevent her from hearing cases.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline has alleged Ballou showed bias toward a prisoner named Mia Christman and against prosecutors. Ballou ordered Christman’s release, then did not remand Christman into custody when the Supreme Court reversed her decision.

Ballou also continued to make rulings in the case while a motion to recuse her was pending, which the commission said another judge found to be in violation of the law.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson previously tried to have Ballou removed from all of his office’s cases. The Nevada Supreme Court removed her from one case, but Chief District Judge Jerry Wiese rejected an attempt to have her removed from all district attorney cases in July.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline censured Ballou last year for social media posts and comments she made at a sentencing: “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.”

Those remarks prompted a call for Ballou’s resignation from the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, which represents Metropolitan Police Department officers.

Ballou was elected in 2020 without campaigning or raising money. She had been endorsed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

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