Judge who had jury deliberate at 3 a.m. to save her vacation agrees to reprimand
A Nevada judge who admittedly had a jury deliberate for nearly 18 hours in December 2010 in order to ensure that she could go on vacation as planned has agreed to a public reprimand.
District Judge Valorie Vega also admitted that on six occasions she recessed the trial in the middle of the day so she could attend her daughter’s soccer games, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
The defendant, Victor Fakoya, was acquitted in a child’s murder, so he presumably was not adversely affected. But Vega’s six-page stipulation says the manner in which she handled trial scheduling was not courteous to those involved. The planned public reprimand, which was announced Wednesday, must still be approved at a Monday meeting of the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline.
The Las Vegas Sun also has a story.
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge Saves Her Vacation by Putting Jury to Work at 3 a.m.”