If you weren't watching CNN's live coverage of Judge Halverson's continuing attempt to make the country believe Nevada will allow anyone to practice law in the state (or be a judge here) no matter how insane they are, you missed some good stuff.Yesterday, her former Bailiff Johnnie Jordan was unable to hide his disgust that Halverson [ballooning up in the picture to the left] was even allotted a chance to explain herself.
The Review-Journal reports:
During a Monday disciplinary hearing in Las Vegas, Jordan testified that Halverson treated him like a personal slave. An overwhelmed Jordan yelled that he had been robbed of his dignity and then broke down weeping.
"I can't stand what she did to me! My question is why?" Jordan shouted at Halverson and the seven members of the Judicial Discipline Commission. "What's it say about
America? What's it say about the president of the United States? If you guys allow her to be in office after all this, what does this say about all you? This is bull crap!"
(Video of the testimony available here)
Wow, Halverson is so repugnant, offensive and embarassing that Mr. Jordan believes the President of the United States should step in.
Today, Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle testified that Halverson didn’t respect the court and forced staff to spend too much time dealing with complaints about her. According to Hardcastle, staff, jurors and judges complained about Halverson’s behavior. She said judges even refused to attend meetings if they knew Halverson would be present. (Review-Journal)
"What's it say about
ReplyDeleteAmerica? What's it say about the president of the United States?"
I've got to say, that's about the funniest thing I've ever read. I've tried to think of a way to answer those thoughtful questions; however, the best I could come up with is, "George Bush hates black people?"
Question: I'm watching this case and I'm wondering what that emergency restraining order business was?
ReplyDeleteShe filed an emergency motion to stay the disciplinary hearing. I assume it had something to do with the impending election [or her being impossibly fat and unable to fit in the hearing room]
ReplyDeleteI watched most of the hearing today and I'm pretty ashamed to be practicing in Nevada if the world, or at least the ATL crowd, thinks the attorneys in the Halverson case are representative of the attorneys in this state. Dorothy Nash Holmes has some great material, but she's boring, doesn't know how to ask questions and she's opening up all kinds of issues for appeal. Halverson's attorney is a complete joke -- from the suit to his performance to his tone of voice and to his entire demeanor.
ReplyDeleteMost of the witnesses have also been a joke. Does the bailiff have a civil suit pending? His "performance" was over the top crazy.
And what the hell is Halverson thinking with the pink suit and the red hair. Clash, clash, clash.
I think Halverson has made a couple of valid points. Other judges yell and create tension in the courtroom (Bonaventure, Doug Smith, Lee Gates, Jackie Glass) but complaints are not filed against them. Other judges talk to the jury outside the jury's presence (Mosley has been the subject of several appeals on this issue) and other judges are less than kind to their staff. I'm not excusing her behavior, and she's clearly bat shit crazy, but she's not the only one.
make that "outside counsel's presence" -- sorry.
ReplyDeleteI was watching the CNN live stream of the Halverson hearing yesterday afternoon. Here is what you missed:
ReplyDeleteAt about 3:35 PM a new set of Halverson attorneys entered the hearing room and served the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline and the Special Prosecutor with a federal civil rights law suit that Halverson filed under 42 USC 1982, and with a notice of exparte hearing wherein Halverson will request the federal court to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the hearing. (42 USC 1982 provides for damages and is commonly used in police officer shooting cases and beating cases.)
Halverson also claims she has a petition pending with the NV Supreme Court to delay the hearing but the Supremes have not acted on it yet (I could not even find a record of it on the court web page.)
The disciplinary hearing will start late (at 1:00 PM) today, because the Commission and the prosecutor will be in Federal Court this morning.
The hearing did go until 6:00 PM today, and it was electric.
First, the tech expert that Halverson hired to search Ilene Spoor’s Court House computer for evidence that she had been emailing information about Halverson to the press testified that Halverson said “don’t believe everything you read about me in the papers and then lifted up her blouse and then asked him if there was any “urine on it”. He thought that comment was so strange he talked to al lawyer, then the police, then the Commission.
Next, Halverson was called to the stand and tried to avoid testifying by asserting the fifth amendment against self incrimination. This was overruled.
Halverson then implied that the Nevada Supreme Court might not follow the law as handed down by the US Supreme Court—which Halverson insists holds that the disciplinary hearings are quasi-criminal in nature and therefore she does not have to testify.
The Commission responded that there is a NV Supreme Court cases that decided that very issue holding that the judge in question could not blanket take the 5th, but could only assert the 5th on a question by question basis if the question crated the risk of a criminal prosecution.
Halverson then said that the “court” would resolve that issue “tomorrow”.
Nash-Holms (the prosecutor) then asked series of questions running through most of the accusations (ask Jordan to rub feet, ever touch him, call your law clerk a faux Jew, ect. ect).
Halverson denied every core allegation against her with a series of noes, then got very combative and argumentative with the prosecutor and the Commission adjourned at 6:00 PM.
The Federal Court case number is 2-02-CM1006.
No way is the federal court going to halt a state court judicial discipline proceeding. Unless even federal judges in Nevada are nuts.
Federal case number is 2:08-cv-1006
ReplyDeleteI can understand why he said "what's it say about the president". He was speaking about people in authority period. IE., judges, president, all of America's leaders. I knew what he meant. He was emotional and finally had the chance to tell his side of the story to people who mattered.
ReplyDeleteI have got to say, if this is how Halverson acts in front of TV cameras and in front of people who have final judgement over her, then I hate to see how she acts behind closed doors and on the bench. WOW. She says that the prosecutor saying she wasnt a sitting judge was demeaning to her? Ummmm...... okayyyyy then! I hope she not only gets the boot off the bench, I hope she is never ever able to hold public office in any capacity.