Halverson alleges his exposure to disease

The incarcerated husband of disgraced former District Judge Elizabeth Halverson claims in a federal lawsuit that prison officials might have exposed him to a variety of diseases by giving him and other diabetic inmates expired insulin prepackaged in syringes he said were re-used and possibly contaminated.

Edward Halverson, 51, serving a term of three to 10 years at the Southern Desert Correctional Center near Indian Springs for beating his wife with a frying pan in 2008, filed the lawsuit in July and named prison officials, medical staff and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto as defendants.

Deputy Attorney General LeeAnn Phouthavongsay in court papers asked U.S. District Judge Phillip Pro to toss the complaint, arguing Halverson made incorrect assumptions and "bald assertions" with no basis in fact.

Pro canceled an emergency hearing scheduled for Friday after prison medical staffers provided the court with signed affidavits contradicting Halverson's claims. Those statements "demonstrate that only new syringes are issued to the insulin-dependent diabetic inmates, that the syringes are collected and properly disposed of and that no syringes have or are being re-used at SDCC," wrote Pro in his order.

Cheryl Dressler, the prison's director of Nursing Services, wrote in her affidavit that she purchased the syringes in late June and her staff was unaware that a supplier sent some that were roughly four months past their expiration date. Those syringes were discarded, she wrote.

Dr. R. Bruce Bannister, the medical director for the Nevada Department of Corrections, said there is "no chance" a serious, blood-borne illness would be transmitted by an unopened, expired syringe.

Bannister in his affidavit added the only chance a person could be harmed is if the skin at the injection site was infected. Medical authorities say expired insulin loses potency, but presents no other health risk.

Halverson filed his civil rights complaint in July; it was his second federal lawsuit against the prison this summer.

In June, Halverson, who has a lengthy criminal record including at least 10 prior arrests and who spent roughly four years in prison on a previous burglary and drug possession conviction, claimed his civil rights were violated in that case when a law librarian refused to let him do legal research on behalf of another inmate. That case has not been resolved.

Halverson, 51, beat his wife over the head with a frying pan Sept. 4, 2008, in their home near Tropicana Avenue and U.S. Highway 95. Her injuries required more than 100 medical staples to close and she spent about two weeks in the hospital.

In October 2008 Edward Halverson entered an Alford plea to one count of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm. Prosecutors as part of the deal dropped the original charge of attempted murder.

Alford pleas allow the defendant to avoid admitting wrongdoing but acknowledge the state could prove its case. They are treated the same as guilty pleas.

While she was recovering from her injuries, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline permanently removed Elizabeth Halverson from the bench on Nov. 17, 2008, after hearing roughly a dozen complaints that were filed in 2007, including that the judge slept while presiding over court and treated her staff like slaves.

She also was found guilty of having improper contact with jurors and making false statements. Her fall from grace was swift as she was on the bench less than two years.

According to a records clerk at Family Court, Elizabeth Halverson filed for divorce in December 2008. The case remains open but inmates in Nevada are prohibited from challenging divorce petitions. They have been married about 12 years.

Contact Doug McMurdo at dmcmurdo@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5512 or read more courts coverage at lvlegalnews.com.