Mosley expects ‘feeding frenzy’

Kim Smith

Monday, Feb. 25, 2002 | 9:26 a.m.

District Judge Donald Mosley, who is the subject of a weeklong ethics hearing that began this morning -- said Friday he is looking forward to concluding his longtime battle with the Nevada Commission on Judicial Conduct.

"I think it will be a feeding frenzy for some people, but beyond that, I'm feeling confident," Mosley said. "I'd like to see it finally concluded."

Mosley, who has been on the bench nearly 19 years, is alleged to have violated the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct 11 times during three incidents.

Hearings on those charges are being held this week at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

If five out of seven commission members find him guilty of any of the charges, Mosley could face a wide range of sanctions, up to and including removal from the bench, according to Michelle Wright, a management analyst for the commission.

Less serious sanctions include censorship, public apology, fine, suspension, probation, training seminars and forced psychiatric care. Judges can also have their powers limited and their ability to run for re-election taken away.

Alan B. Rabkin, the commission's general counsel, was out of the office and could not be reached for comment Friday. Special Prosecutor Mary Boetsch did not return calls for comment and Mosley's attorneys, Dominic Gentile and Thomas Pitaro, declined to comment.

Mosley said the allegations made against him were sparked by a bitter child custody dispute between him and Terry Figliuzzi, whose legal name is now Terry Mosley. She is the mother of his son.

One allegation is that Donald Mosley met twice with a criminal defendant to see what the man could say on his behalf at a custody hearing.

Mosley's attorneys have since said that while he did discuss the custody hearing with Joseph McLaughlin, McLaughlin knew the judge would not be able to preside over his criminal case if McLaughlin or his wife testified on Mosley's behalf.

Mosley stepped aside from the case and another judge sentenced McLaughlin, but not before McLaughlin had testified in the custody hearing.

The judge is also accused of arranging the release of a jail inmate at the request of a longtime friend, Barbara Orcutt. Mosley attorney Neil Galatz said the judge arranged for the man to be released on his own recognizance, but he had asked the presiding judge beforehand and that judge did not object.

In the third incident Mosley is accused of using official stationery to write school officials about his son, who was born in 1992.

This week's hearing will be held despite several attempts by Mosley to have the charges against him dismissed.

Mosley, who is running for re-election in November, said the past few years have been difficult.

"Anytime there are allegations of ethics violations, it's incredibly damning to a judge's reputation," Mosley said.