Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

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Cost of benching Halverson tops $200,000

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008 | 2 a.m.

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It’s tough to figure exactly how much, but it has cost taxpayers more than $200,000 for District Judge Elizabeth Halverson not to sit on the bench.

Halverson has continued drawing her $130,000 annual salary even though she was suspended in July 2007.

The state also pays for replacements to handle her cases in Las Vegas. That eats into the $1.8 million allocated by the to pay for senior judges who replace sitting jurists when they are disqualified or step aside for other reasons.

“It will be close,” said Bill Gang, public information officer for Nevada Supreme Court, but there should be enough money to avoid going broke this fiscal year.

“Since July 2007, when Judge Halverson was suspended, more than $180,000 has been paid to senior judges who have spent at least a portion of their time covering for her absence,” Gang said. Those judges may cover Halverson’s cases for part of the day and then sit in for another judge.

“Senior judges assigned to Judge Halverson’s courtroom since January may also preside over drug court sessions,” Gang said. “Drug court has expanded its days in court and only about a quarter of the more than $90,000 spend on senior judges who were assigned to Judge Halverson’s cases actually involved covering for Judge Halverson.”

On Friday the state Judicial Discipline Commission concluded its misconduct hearing on Halverson, who is accused of mistreating her staff, falling asleep on the bench and mishandling cases.

The commission isn’t expected to rule on her case for several weeks. If it finds her guilty of any of the allegations, it can order penalties including immediate removal from office or a lifetime ban on holding judicial office.

In any event, Halverson is out of office in January. She ran last in a field of three candidates in Tuesday’s primary election.

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