Obese judge allegedly napped, made bailiff rub her feet
Ruth
Story Highlights
* Nevada judge faces week of hearings that could end her career
* Elizabeth Halverson is accused of using staff as personal valets
* She also is accused of sleeping on the bench
* Her supporters blame malcontent staffers
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Elizabeth Halverson is a judge. But the way
courthouse staffers see it, she expects to be treated like a queen.
Her former bailiff, for example, says Halverson made him feel like a
"houseboy." He says the judge -- who is obese and uses a motorized scooter
to get around -- made him put her shoes on her feet, massage her back,
cover her with a blanket for naps and make sure her oxygen tank was filled.
He says she asked him, "Do you want to worship me from near or afar?"
Halverson also surrounded herself with her own hired guards, saying she did
not trust the courthouse security force to protect her. Another time, she
allegedly had her husband sworn in so that she could ask him under oath
whether he had completed chores at home.
Since then, the 50-year-old Nevada district judge has been locked out of
her Las Vegas courtroom, suspended from the bench and brought up on
judicial-misconduct charges that include not only misusing her position and
treating her staff like personal valets but also tainting juries and
falling asleep on the bench.
Nevada's judicial discipline commission is preparing for a week of open
hearings next month that could put an end to Halverson's career.
Many lawyers are unwilling to talk publicly about the case because of the
powerful figures involved, but expect the proceedings to be entertaining,
to say the least.
Halverson denies the allegations.
"We believe the Judicial Discipline Commission has overreached," said her
attorney, John Arrascada. "It's apparent that some people believe her
physical appearance somehow makes her unable to perform her duties as a
judge." He added, "Last time I checked, being a judge doesn't require a
beauty contest."
Halverson holds a law degree from the University of Southern California and
worked as a law clerk in the state court for nine years before she was
elected to the bench in fall 2006. She handled civil and criminal cases
alike.
When the bailiff who complained about her, Johnnie Jordan Jr., was
reassigned, Halverson hired her own guards and let them bypass security
checks at the courthouse. She called 911 when court administrators tried to
enter her office.
In May 2007, the chief Clark County District Court judge, Kathy Hardcastle,
locked her out of her courtroom. The following July, six months after
Halverson was sworn in, the commission suspended her, accusing her among
other things of creating a hostile work environment, hiring a technician to
try to hack into the courthouse computer system, and causing mistrials in
two sexual assault cases by improperly meeting with jurors.
The commission declared that she posed "a substantial threat to the public
or to the administration of justice."
The case is laden with subplots. Hardcastle dismissed Halverson as a law
clerk in 2004, saying that such a position is typically a short-time job
and that it was time Halverson moved on. Halverson then mounted an
unsuccessful bid for Family Court judge against Hardcastle's husband.
Hardcastle has insisted her actions against Halverson weren't personal.
Jeffrey Stempel, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
said he is troubled by what appears to be an attempt to "micromanage" a
judge.
"Judicial removal should generally be reserved for corruption and complete
incompetence or inability to do the job," Stempel said. "One question you
have to ask is, `Is this judge so bad we have to remove her before the
voters have a chance to do so?' "
Dayvid Figler, a defense lawyer, said he had no complaints after trying
cases in Halverson's courtroom.
"In fairness, she believes she's fighting the fight of a maverick," Figler
said. "I think her position is, `Why should I be another cog in the
machine? Isn't it what the voters elected me to do, bring change?' "
Amid the hullabaloo, Halverson has filed for re-election in August to a
six-year term and is soliciting contributions on her Web site. But she has
also filed a request to stop the election, claiming that the Legislature
unconstitutionally changed the procedures. She continues to draw her
$130,000-a-year salary.
Halverson did not respond to an interview request. A shirtless man who
answered the door at her home pointed to a "no trespassing" sign and
ordered a reporter off the property. The yard is clean these days, after
the city cited Halverson for leaving it strewn with junk and letting the
water in her pool grow murky and stagnant.
In documents denying the allegations, Halverson has blamed disgruntled
employees and vindictive colleagues.
She has submitted a report from a therapist who diagnosed her with an
adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression. And she produced a letter from
her physician, Dr. Michael Jacobs, who said she is diabetic, uses a
wheelchair because of arthritis in her feet and knees, and needs oxygen to
counteract the effects of sleep apnea.
Jacobs said a drop in blood sugar may have caused a brief episode in which
she fell asleep in court. But he said there is no physical reason Halverson
cannot be an effective judge.
Wildhare
This judge is just one of the myriad of incompetent public officials
of ANY weight running around out there. In fact compared to many of
the charges leveled at some of our public officials these seem pretty
bush-league. At least she isn’t letting child molesters and rapists
walk the way may of our dumb liberal court officials do.
Besides, what does her weight have to do with her conduct and the way
she treats the rest of the court employees? You can pretty much bet
she would be a whack job even if she were thin, most lawyers and
judges are.
W.
Lady Veteran
>http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/09/queen.judge.ap/index.html
>
An you, brainstem. bring this into SSFA to cast all fat people by the
behavior of one.
What sort of primordial OOZE are you anyway?
Your stupidity should be painful.
LV
"I rode a tank and held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank."
---Sympathy for the Devil-The Rolling Stones
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"A fanatic cannot change his mind and will not
change the subject."
---Winston Churchill
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