Halverson removed from bench

The Judicial Discipline Commission removed suspended District Judge Elizabeth Halverson from the bench Monday and barred her from ever serving as a Nevada judge again.

The commission said that during her brief stint as a judge, Halverson was at times paranoid and combative toward superiors and had a "bizarre" relationship with her own staff.

The accusations against Halverson included that she was unfit to serve as a judge and that she ordered her bailiff to give her foot and back massages.

"The damage resulting from her antics and willful misconduct will be felt by the judicial system for a significant future period of time," the commission said in a 28-page decision signed by chairman Greg Ferraro.

Halverson has 15 days to appeal the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Michael Schwartz, Halverson's attorney, said Monday that she should not be removed from office.

"Knowing the facts of the case, I don't believe there's a basis to have that kind of disposition," said Schwartz, who would not elaborate.

Halverson, 51, could not be reached for comment. She ran for re-election this year but did not make it through the primary, collecting only about 10 percent of the vote.

The commission's ruling caps off more than a year and a half of bitter fighting between the judge and Nevada's judicial system. She unsuccessfully asked several courts, including the Nevada Supreme Court and federal court, to intervene on her behalf.

Halverson has maintained that she is innocent.

Halverson has been suspended from the bench since July 2007 but continued to collect her annual pay of $130,000. As of Monday, she will stop receiving her salary.

Halverson will be eligible for COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which provides health care benefits for a limited time.

She will not be eligible for a pension as judges need to serve five years before they can collect.

The commission's decision was delayed after Halverson's husband of 10 years attacked her with a frying pan in early September. Halverson suffered severe head injuries during the attack and was hospitalized for two weeks. She needed more than 100 medical staples to close the wounds.

Her husband, Edward Halverson, 49, pleaded guilty last month to one count of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm and will serve three to 10 years in prison. For his plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of attempted murder.

Elizabeth Halverson was elected as a judge in 2006, and she took office at the start of 2007. Accusations surfaced almost immediately that she was not ready to be a judge.

She was accused of treating her bailiff, Johnnie Jordan, like a personal slave. She was accused of improperly communicating with jurors, falling asleep on the bench and swearing in front of other staffers.

In its ruling, the Judicial Discipline Commission upheld civil charges that included sleeping on the job, breaching security by hiring private security guards, using profanity around staff, making false statements to the commission and refusing to work with court staff.

During a seven-day disciplinary hearing in Las Vegas, the commissioners heard testimony from multiple witnesses, including District Judge Stewart Bell and a prosecutor and a defense attorney who practiced in front of the judge.

The commission also heard from Jordan, who in an emotional outburst screamed at the commission to remove Halverson from office.

"Some judges are in office for an entire career and do not accumulate the type of dismal professional history that the record in this case establishes," the commission said.

But the commission found that there was not enough evidence to support charges that she harassed staff by calling a co-worker "the evil one" and by calling her husband a "stupid son of a bitch" in front them.

The commission still said that she treated staff horribly.

"No employee, even those inured to a judge's mercurial temperament and foul mouth should have to experience what Judge Halverson made her immediate staff live and work through," the commission said.

This is the second time in less than a month that the commission has removed a Clark County judge from office.

In late October, Clark County Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio was permanently barred from serving as a judge in Nevada after he admitted to sexual improprieties, including having sex in hotels with a staff member during working hours.

Three other Southern Nevada jurists have been removed from the bench since 1987.

David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal. com or 702-380-1039.