Friday, July 13, 2007 | 7:21 a.m.
The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline appears to be moving rapidly toward at least a temporary resolution to the saga involving District Judge Elizabeth Halverson.
On Monday the commission will hold a secret hearing in the Halverson case, the Sun has learned.
In the past several weeks, subpoenas have been shipped all over Las Vegas, according to several well-placed sources. The subpoenas have been issued to Halverson's former staffers, to court officials and to judges who have tried to counsel her, and to lawyers who have appeared before her in cases in which the judge allegedly made significant missteps.
The commission seeks to issue Halverson an interim order of suspension, which the agency can demand as it weighs filing formal charges. Halverson has contested the order, prompting the hearing.
On Thursday, Halverson filed an emergency petition for a writ of prohibition with the state Supreme Court, possibly arguing that the commission does not have the authority to remove the judge from office, even temporarily.
The document was filed under seal, so its precise contents could not be learned. Writs of prohibition sometimes are issued by a higher court commanding a lower court to cease from proceeding outside its jurisdiction.
Interim suspension orders can occur after a complaint has been filed with the commission and a decision has been made to investigate.
According to state law, the commission can order a suspension when a judge has been indicted on a felony charge; when a judge is deemed mentally incompetent or insane; or when a judge poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or to the administration of justice.
No one is talking publicly about the matter, because the commission's discipline process is kept confidential unless the commission files formal charges against the judge.
Halverson did not return a call to her chambers. Her attorney, Bill Gamage, declined to comment.
David Sarnowski, the commission's general counsel and executive director, said state law mandated that he could not comment on any possible investigation of Halverson.
According to state law and commission rules, if the commission proceeds with a suspension order, the judge can appeal it to the state Supreme Court. The judge would remain on the bench, with pay, while the appeal is heard.
Interim suspension orders are issued only in extreme cases of alleged judicial malfeasance.
Sarnowski said the commission has issued at least three interim suspension orders since 1996 . The highest profile suspension was the case of Clark County District Judge Gerard Bongiovanni, who in 1996 was stripped of his gavel after being indicted on 13 federal charges of bribery and wire fraud.
Later that year Bongiovanni lost his reelection bid. In 1998 he was acquitted on all counts.
During the past several months allegations about Halverson's conduct on and off the bench have been made by former staffers and attorneys who have appeared in her courtroom.
Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle banished Halverson from the courthouse after she hired private bodyguards who bypassed normal courthouse security procedures.
That prompted Halverson to file a motion to be reinstated. In December the Supreme Court ruled that she should be reinstated while her case is heard.
The accusations against Halverson, a rookie judge who took the bench in January, have been wide-ranging. They've included allegations that she's acted abusively toward her staff, including repeated verbal assaults and demands that they give her foot and back rubs.
Halverson also allegedly fell asleep during court proceedings and talked to jurors outside the presence of the lawyers in at least one case.
In that matter, Halverson engaged jurors in a criminal case in an informal conversation while they were deliberating. Nevada law says judges in criminal trials may not communicate with the jury unless the attorneys are included or have received notice.
The defendant, Vada McDaniel, had been charged with 23 felony counts of lewdness with a child under 14 and sexual assault. Though McDaniel's public defender requested a mistrial, Halverson denied the motion. The jury then returned and delivered 13 no-verdict decisions, meaning it was deadlocked, and 10 not-guilty verdicts.
After several allegations about misconduct by Halverson surfaced, Hardcastle took all criminal cases away from her in April.
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