Halverson loses bid to stay on bench

By Brian Eckhouse (contact)

Published Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008 | 9:52 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008 | 12:40 a.m.

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Elizabeth Halverson

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Elizabeth Halverson has been tossed off the bench. Not by state judicial officers, but by voters.

The embattled district court judge who has been banned indefinitely from the courthouse didn't win re-election Tuesday night. With all precincts reporting, Halverson had just 9.7 percent of the vote.

Halverson, who uses a motorized scooter to get around, was a distant third in Tuesday’s primary against challengers Jason Landess and Stefaney Miley. Miley’s billboards have been a ubiquitous presence across the valley.

Miley and Landess will face off in November’s general election. In Nevada, the top two vote-getters in judicial races move on to the general election in November. Miley had 60 percent of the vote to Landess' 30.4 percent.

The Nevada Judicial Discipline Committee spent much of last week hearing testimony in Halverson’s bid to return to her courtroom -– but the hearing was halted Friday when she had a hypoglycemic attack. The hearing aired nationally on TruTV.

Halverson’s former bailiff, Johnie Jordan, testified that she forced him to essentially be her servant. Amid tears last week, Jordan alleged that Halverson made him rub her feet, among other subservient tasks.

There were other incidents and issues.

A computer technician last year alleged that Halverson hired him to retrieve a missing file on his computer, but upon his arrival at the Regional Justice Center, instructed him to hack into the e-mails of employees she was at odds with, as the Sun reported in January. The technician said he refused, then reported her to the discipline commission.

Her attorney at the time denied the allegation.

When Halverson did preside over cases, she wasn’t a favorite among the valley’s lawyers. In a six-month period last year, judicial officials found 134 instances of attorneys asking to move their cases from Halverson’s courtroom.

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

By mikeg

8/12/08 at 11:57 p.m.

Suggest removal

Really, I'd love to know, what were the ten percent thinking?
By dbltrbl

8/13/08 at 5:11 a.m.

Suggest removal

9.7% for the poorest excuse for a 'judge' can only be explained as coming from those without a clue as to what has been happening with Halverson. They don't read but they vote; go figure.
By RebelRouser

8/13/08 at 7:46 a.m.

Suggest removal

I guarantee that the 9.7% were voting purely on name recognition - they remembered the name, but couldn't remember in exactly what context they heard it. No one who knows about her would vote for her. She's an embarrassment to our legal community.
By cignetti

8/13/08 at 9:17 a.m.

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The point here is that the system failed a long time ago and the wolf continues to guard the hen house. Lawyers being lawyers and predators. Congratulations voters apparently you address the problem better than the dolts that occupy responsible positions in the state.
By AgMallard

8/13/08 at 12:26 p.m.

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10% of a historically low turnout? What, is like 5 votes???
By gqbossing

8/13/08 at 1:41 p.m.

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I bet you her family and friends (even the worst people have those) voted for her, and if it was a 15% turnout of the roughly 1M eligible voters that's 150,000 total votes, and 9% of that is about 1,350. Not really too good. Must have had 1,300 hanging chads. LOL
By nkls3713

8/13/08 at 10:40 p.m.

Suggest removal

good riddance to a low life disgusting judge, now somebody else can rub her feet.

uh YUCK.
By azsk8fan

8/14/08 at 6:38 a.m.

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Maybe the 9.7% figured she wouldn't be able to sit on the bench much longer anyway - after all just how much weight can a bench support before it finally gives way.
By cignetti

8/14/08 at 9:48 a.m.

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Just the public doing the job of what paid politicians should have done a long time ago. Your tax dollars paying politians on the dole.
By CTRMOM71

8/14/08 at 6:19 p.m.

Suggest removal

While I agree that Judge Halverson should not be on the bench I feel it is very ignorant to comment on her weight, sighting it as a reason she should not or could not serve. Plus size or heavy people can be just as qualified as skinny people. It's the education, motivation, ability and ethics of a person that count, not the size of the person. Lets worry about what really matters and not drag the discussion down to the level of crude and incompetent.