Testimony ends in Halverson case

After two weeks of hearings and more than a year on suspension, embattled District Judge Elizabeth Halverson will have to wait a few more weeks before learning her fate on judicial misconduct charges.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline on Friday wrapped up its hearing on Halverson's case, but it will not make a decision until it receives written closing arguments from her and the special prosecutor. Both sides will have 10 working days to file their papers after they receive the transcripts of the hearings, which started Aug. 4.

Halverson is charged with 11 counts of judicial misconduct that could end with her permanent removal from the bench, including improperly communicating with jurors during trials, falling asleep on the bench and mistreating employees.

Halverson, who was suspended in July 2007 and continues to collect her $130,000 annual pay, finished third in Tuesday's primary and will not advance to the general election in November.

"I'm feeling that it's done now," Halverson said afterward.

Her lawyer, Michael Schwartz, said his client was not given enough time to present her case. The commission gave her only Friday to present her defense while it gave the prosecution six days.

District Judge Richard Wagner, the commissioner presiding over the hearing, said Thursday that the commission would not meet beyond 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Schwartz said he had never seen a case in which the defense was given a deadline to finish.

That wasn't the only problem for Halverson's case on Friday. About eight of her witnesses did not show up to testify at the hearing, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Halverson accused the lawyer for the Clark County courts, Jillian Prieto, of interfering with the subpoenas of courthouse employees, including bailiffs and court staffers. Schwartz said those witnesses were vital to their case.

Halverson said she left Prieto a voice mail during a morning break at Thursday's hearing and explained which witnesses needed to show up the next day.

Prieto denied getting such a message, saying Halverson's voice mail only apologized for playing phone tag. She also said Halverson had days to contact witnesses about the dates and times for their testimony but waited until after 10 p.m. Thursday to call witnesses about court appearances the next day.

"She's trying to place blame for her failures," Prieto said.

One of the witnesses, District Judge Michelle Leavitt, rushed to the convention center from a death-penalty murder trial to testify after learning of the problem. Leavitt was still catching her breath when she sat down to testify.

Her testimony was brief, as Wagner denied Halverson's attempt to ask questions about a personnel matter Leavitt had with her judicial executive assistant. Halverson said she wanted to compare how that case was handled with her conflict with her assistant, Ileen Spoor, whom Halverson accused of fixing traffic tickets and conspiring to remove her from the bench.

"I have a right to show there's one set of rules for a regular judge and one set of rules for me," Halverson said during the proceeding.

Wagner disagreed, saying the commission had "bent over backward, literally, to allow many instances to go beyond relevant information" to the judicial misconduct case.

The missing witness problem took a humorous turn when Halverson called lawyer Jeff Maningo on a cell phone.

Schwartz and special prosecutor Dorothy Nash Holmes took turns holding the cell phone to the conference room microphones and questioning him about what he saw during a trial in which Halverson is accused of falling asleep.

Maningo, who explained he received his subpoena the afternoon of Aug. 4, the same day he was originally scheduled to testify, said he never saw the judge fall asleep.

During testimony earlier Friday, several employees who worked for Halverson said she was cordial and polite and never yelled at or mistreated them. Several also testified that Johnnie Jordan, Halverson's former bailiff, was a devoted employee who was happy to do whatever he could for the judge.

Jordan has said Halverson mistreated him, including forcing him to massage her feet, put on her shoes and keep her water cup filled.

Daniel Reichert, a courthouse bailiff for 24 years, said he often attended to the judges he worked for, including filling cups with water and ice and making sure their courtrooms were clean.

He said he would help a judge put on a robe or shoes if they needed help, and he said he always offered to help female judges put on their robes.

"That's how I was raised," he said.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.