Editorial: Benching a judge

Friday, July 27, 2007 | 7:27 a.m.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended District Judge Elizabeth Halverson this week, outlining a damning case against her.

The commission found that she "poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public and to the administration of justice." In a rarely used action, the commission temporarily suspended her with pay while it decides whether to pursue a public case against her. The commission, which is to be commended for its thorough and quick work, should press its case. It will not be easy. Halverson has aggressively fought the commission and is expected to appeal her suspension to the state Supreme Court.

However, justice will not be served until she either resigns or is removed.

In its 27-page order issued Tuesday, the commission explains why, detailing some of Halverson's horrific behavior. She clearly is not judicial material and has been a disaster.

She didn't cooperate with other judges. She fell asleep while presiding over a trial. She lost the confidence of attorneys who petitioned, in record numbers, to get out of her courtroom.

The commission also found plenty of evidence that she created a hostile work environment in her chambers, peppered by sexual harassment and coarse language.

Halverson's behavior was bizarre, bordering on paranoia, according to what the commission was told. She asked her bailiff to spy on other employees, told her employees that judges and courthouse employees were out to get her, and put her assistant under oath to ask what people were saying about her. The commission also was told that she put her husband under oath to answer her questions about "certain duties she expected him to perform."

Perhaps the most damning point the commission makes is in reference to a basic breach of judicial conduct - she talked to jurors without involving the attorneys in the case. The commission said this could have been avoided if she had "exercised even a modicum of good judgment."

A judge without good judgment. What a fitting epitaph for her tenure.

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