Blowing the whistle on ‘corrupt, cozy system’

The short tenure of freshman Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Halverson has already generated more controversy than many jurists stir up in a career.

Judge Halverson is now under suspension while the Judicial Discipline Commission investigates complaints regarding her competency and treatment of staff during her few months on the bench. Those allegations have not been proved. But we can hardly pretend not to have noticed that the new judge does not play well with others.

Part of the fault surely lies with her own personality. But Elizabeth Halverson has managed to ask some good questions.

Arriving at the Justice Center last winter, Judge Halverson did not bring a new secretary with her. Instead, she hired Ileen Spoor, who had previously worked for District Judge Michael Cherry, since elevated to the state Supreme Court.

Ms. Spoor moved down the hall and continued to conduct "business as usual."

Judge Halverson fired Ms. Spoor on May 9 after she found a "Quick Fix" file containing traffic tickets from Ms. Spoor's friends and family. The judge also found e-mails sent by her secretary indicating Ms. Spoor helped get people out of jury duty.

Ms. Spoor insists she did nothing illegal. She simply passed the traffic tickets along to attorneys who handled them in traffic court as a favor.

Ms. Spoor filed a defamation lawsuit against Judge Halverson in May, arguing Halverson falsely launched the allegations against her to deflect attention from Judge Halverson's own troubles.

An affidavit Judge Halverson filed with the court includes tickets from the "Quick Fix" file and e-mails that she found at Ms. Spoor's desk. Notes from friends express gratitude to Ms. Spoor. Others ask how much they owe. One note states, "I owe you big time so give me a call and let me know what I can do for you."

At the same time the Judicial Discipline Commission suspended Judge Halverson last month, the members reported they had investigated the "Quick Fix" ticket matter and determined there was no indication Ms. Spoor acted illegally. But they noted "Spoor's inappropriate use of county time to help friends and others locate counsel to assist them in traffic matters ... was not the business of district court."

In court earlier this month, Judge Halverson's lawyer argued the defamation lawsuit against should be dismissed because Halverson was exercising her right of free speech when she told the local media staff members were conducting illegal activities.

But District Judge David Wall ruled Aug. 1 that Ms. Spoor's lawsuit can go forward. The immunity of judges' speech applies only within the courtroom, he ruled.

Those who have been part of this system so long that they can no longer see anything wrong with it insist no tickets are being "fixed" at the Justice Center. They can say this with a straight face because they carefully define "fixed" to mean "illegally deleted from the database."

But come on. The average Jane and Joe, if outraged enough by a traffic ticket to demand their "day in court," quickly learn the inconvenience and lost wages of a day off from work doesn't get them a "day in court," at all. The officer who issued the citation isn't there, and the citizen never even comes before a judge. Some lowly assistant prosecutor puts the touch on them: "If you really want to see the judge, post a bond equal to the amount of the fine, and we'll schedule you to come back in a couple weeks." Weeks later, their time and patience exhausted, they're hit with the clincher: "But if you'll just sign here, we'll keep the money you already paid and reduce the charge so it doesn't affect your insurance rates."

That's the minority who bother to go downtown. Most just pay up and take their "points," none the wiser.

Court public information officer Michael Sommermeyer says, according to a summary of this case in the August issue of the American Bar Association Journal, "a 'courthouse culture' has developed over the years in which some staff and a number of lawyers bring large groups of tickets to the court. He says this is an efficient way to lessen a huge traffic docket. Most of the tickets are for speeding and typically are reduced to violations that add no or fewer points to driving records. Fines are collected."

But this is not equal justice before the law. It's "who-you-know" justice.

In exchange for such favors, court staffers routinely call and use their judge's name to request free show tickets, among other things, a former judge explains.

" 'And will there be any charge for that? No? OK, the judge asks if you could leave them in the following name ...' It's a cozy, corrupt system," the former judge said last week.

Judge Wall should have tossed out Ms. Spoor's lawsuit, which seeks to punish Judge Halverson for blowing the whistle on a "cozy, corrupt system."

Public officials need to be free to speak about perceived corruption in the operations of tax-funded agencies without constant fear of being dragged into court. And their efforts to dismiss employees who they believe are acting improperly should not be chilled by encouraging those dismissed staffers to haul their former employers into court for "casting me in a bad light."

It's the job of judges like David Wall to toss such frivolous cases out on their ears. The taxpayers should not be wasting time and money over a court employee who got her feelings hurt when Judge Halverson blew the whistle on a "cozy, corrupt system."