Embattled Judge Halverson Gets Three of 14 Ethics Charges Dismissed

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline has dismissed three out of 14 ethics charges against embattled Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson.

The dismissal represents some good news for Halverson, who lost a three-way primary election battle on Tuesday.

The commission dismissed some charges relating to the creation of a hostile work environment for her employees, improperly contacting a hearing master, and failing to explain written order procedures to her clerks, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Pending charges include allegations that she mistreated employees, fell asleep on the bench and improperly communicated with jurors.

The newspaper story describes Halverson’s testimony yesterday as “rambling” and noted she broke into tears when talking about an assistant who had been referring traffic tickets to lawyers. Halverson has called the referrals evidence of ticket-fixing while the assistant maintains she did nothing improper. "I was stunned,” Halverson said of the ticket referrals. “I was devastated when I found out what was going on in my office."

Halverson also said she found e-mails on the assistant’s computer showing evidence of a conspiracy to get the media to print nasty articles about her. Testimony was expected to wrap up today.