Sun editorial:

Halverson debacle

Although slow, commission does the right thing to remove an incompetent judge

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

After more than year on suspension, facing charges of misconduct, District Judge Elizabeth Halverson was kicked off the bench Monday by the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline.

The commission ruled that Halverson had fallen asleep on the bench, improperly talked with a jury, mistreated her staff and lied about other judges.

Halverson’s behavior started shortly after she took office in January 2007. After receiving serious allegations of Halverson’s behavior, the commission suspended her in July 2007. In its written order Monday, the commission was aghast at what she had done in that short period.

“Some judges are in office for an entire career and do not accumulate the type of dismal professional history that the record in this case establishes,” the commission said.

Even though voters decided Halverson’s fate this year — she lost her reelection bid in the August primaries — the commission was correct to remove her. As a result, she will not be allowed to serve again as a judge in Nevada.

There have been complaints about how long it took the commission to act. It took 16 months for the commission to resolve the case, and that was the commission’s “fast track.”

But it should be noted that some of that time was devoted to preserving Halverson’s right to due process. In addition, Halverson herself added months to the commission’s investigation by her actions and her requests to delay the process. The commission also had other cases to deal with, such as the removal of Family Court Judge Nicholas Del Vecchio for misconduct.

Judicial misconduct certainly gives the judiciary and the legal community a black eye, which erodes the public’s confidence in the system. The commission said the “damage resulting from (Halverson’s) antics and willful misconduct will be felt by the judicial system for a significant future period.”

The public should be reassured by the commission’s action. A bad judge was tossed off the bench. It took longer than we would have liked, but in the end the system worked.