No more

Chief District Court Judge Kathy Hardcastle is stripping District Judge Elizabeth Halverson's docket of criminal cases.

Hardcastle said Tuesday she is transferring all of Halverson's criminal and civil cases to another judge and Halverson will receive a fresh stack of only civil cases. The change, which takes effect Monday, will give Halverson time to gain experience on the bench, Hardcastle said.

Halverson has been under fire for her lack of legal experience, particularly in criminal cases, since she took the bench in January. Also, only one member of Halverson's initial courtroom staff is still working with her.

Halverson made headlines in March after she disclosed she unintentionally broke the law when she spoke to deliberating jurors in two separate child molestation cases without attorneys present.

In one of those cases, the district attorney offered a plea deal to the defendant because the defense would have likely received a new trial because of the gaffe.

Hardcastle then appointed three veteran judges -- Sally Loehrer, Stewart Bell and Art Ritchie -- to provide guidance to Halverson.

Hardcastle said one of the reasons for the arrangement was to provide an independent buffer between her and Halverson.

Halverson served as a law clerk for nine years in District Court. The job involves researching decisions for judges, and most law clerks spend only a year or two in the job before practicing law themselves. Citing the temporary nature of the position, Hardcastle fired Halverson in 2004. Halverson then ran for a Family Court judgeship against Hardcastle's then-husband.

Halverson lost that race by a narrow margin and started her own firm before running for the newly created seat she won in November.

Earlier this month, one of Hardcastle's appointed mentors, Bell, said, "We're very much trying to approach this in a positive way where there is a comfort level, where we're here to help a colleague improve."

Bell, Loehrer and Ritchie recently gave a report to Hardcastle that recommended alleviating some of Halverson's caseload, and Hardcastle said she acted on their recommendation.

Through a spokeswoman, Halverson issued a statement criticizing Hardcastle's move.

"It is totally unnecessary to change my caseload," the statement said. "I am up to date on everything. I am on my seventh trial and will be on my eighth on Thursday, all in less than four months on the bench. There is no reason to do this.

"I believe this is just more of the ongoing punitive measures I have had to endure," Halverson's statement added. "I am not being treated with respect. Clearly the media knows more than I do. Apparently there are people who cannot get over the election results."

The shuffling changes the entire caseloads of two other rookie judges who took their benches Monday.

Hardcastle explained that under the current case management computer system, it is easier to transfer a judge's entire caseload rather than select and move individual criminal cases from courtroom to courtroom.

Halverson will get the civil cases that had been assigned to newly appointed District Judge Michael Villani. Halverson's criminal and civil cases are to be transferred to newly appointed District Judge David Barker, whose criminal and civil caseload will go to Villani.

"Villani has a background in criminal and civil, and this would also give Judge Halverson more time to pick up more experience in criminal, or pick up more experience before she goes back to criminal," Hardcastle said.

There are other district judges who handle only civil cases.

Another load of criminal cases will be available in late July, when retiring District Judge Joseph Bonaventure's replacement is named, Hardcastle said.

In the meantime, Halverson will have to gear up with almost an entirely new staff.

Her judicial executive assistant, who declined to be interviewed, is the only remaining original staff member in her courtroom.

Lisa Carroll, Halverson's law clerk since January, resigned earlier this month and her last day working with Halverson was Friday. When asked by a Review-Journal reporter where she'll be working next, Carroll replied, "Nowhere, yet."

Carroll, who declined to comment further, was the fourth staff member to leave Halverson's courtroom. All of the other former employees either declined to speak for this article or did not return calls seeking comment.

Clark County court officials said they cannot disclose the reasons why Halverson no longer has the law clerk, court clerk, court recorder and bailiff with whom she started because those are personnel issues, but officials did say the exodus was unusual.

"I've never heard of this many staff members leaving within this short period of time," Hardcastle said.

She said large turnover in any courtroom can disrupt efficiency. "It takes a while to learn the system," Hardcastle said.

In a written statement Halverson said, "The staff was inherited with the office appointment, and some of the staff have chosen to pursue other opportunities."

Court officials, however, said Halverson selected the staff when she was elected to the new court department.

"She was able to choose her own staff, and did not inherit her staff without any input or the ability to make a decision about who would serve as members of her judicial team," said Michael Sommermeyer, district court spokesman.

Halverson has replacement staff and is conducting interviews to fill positions permanently. She said through her spokeswoman, Kathy Kubik, that the public and attorneys should not see any change in operations.

"Actually the department is now running more efficiently with the changes that have been made so far," her statement said.

When a new department such as Halverson's is created, it takes time for a newly elected judge to put together the right staff, she wrote.

"My bailiff, Johnny Jordan, as far as I know was removed from my court and would like to return to my court, and I would be happy to have him back," Halverson noted in the statement.

According to court officials, her former court clerk asked to be reassigned. Her court recorder resigned and applied and received a position in Barker's courtroom. But court officials would not specify under what terms Jordan was removed. He is working at security checkpoints at the Regional Justice Center and Family Court.

The law clerk, court recorder and bailiff are considered at-will positions, meaning they are hired and serve at the pleasure of the judge and are not guaranteed reassignment if they leave their positions.

"When there is a personnel matter under review, it's normal procedure to assign an at-will employee to another location until the review is completed," said court administrator Chuck Short, regarding Jordan's reassignment.

Halverson has a new court clerk, a temporary law clerk and is interviewing for a court reporter, which she said will better suit her needs than the court recorder.

The camera-shy Halverson currently uses a court recorder, who monitors the video and audio recordings of court proceedings and later transcribes them. If she switches to a court reporter, her court hearings will no longer be captured on video, but transcribed on a stenotype live. Nine of the 37 District Court judges rely on reporters instead of court recorders.

In one of her written statements to the Review-Journal, Halverson said, "I have spoken to all of the folks that I work with, and they have all said they are happy to be working with me, which has pleased me very much."

Halverson also complained about the newspaper's inquiries about her.

"It seems to me that I have been singled out, when there are many other issues that are going on in these offices," Halverson said.

Kubik said Halverson plans to elaborate on the courthouse's other issues at a later date.

Bell acknowledged there have been rumors circulating regarding Halverson's personal and professional behavior on and off the bench.

"She is certainly getting picked on. I don't know that I'm in a position to say fairly or unfairly. I don't know all the facts," Bell said. "I think the important thing is not what happened yesterday. It's what happens tomorrow."