Attorney Fees
Embattled Judge Says She Can’t Pay Legal Fees
Posted May 29, 2008, 12:45 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Embattled Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson has requested a continuance so she can prepare to defend herself on an ethics complaint that she fell asleep on the bench and treated staff like servants.
Halverson told the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission that she owes more than $90,000 in legal fees and a trial would cost an additional $125,000, the Associated Press reports. She says she can’t pay since "over the last year I have paid or incurred in excess of $120,000 in legal fees."
Halverson’s lawyers have sought to withdraw because of “an irreconcilable conflict of interest."
The complaint against Halverson contends she fell asleep on the bench three times, had improper conversations with deliberating jurors, made comments to the media that could have affected a pending case, tried to hack into a computer system to access other employees’ e-mails, and created a hostile work environment for court employees.
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Comments
Posted by Ellen Barshevsky - 3 months, 1 week, 2 days, 1 hour, 24 minutes ago
If true, this is a sad story, but why is the ABA crucifying this judge, I think because she is a WOMAN. This is really unfair. Women are constantly being put down because they are a woman? How can we expect to get ahead in the profession if the ABA is always publicising the negatives about us? Why we don’t work as many hours, wear low cut dresses for attention, etc, etc. I think some good stories out to be publshed about what we do as WOMEN for the profession. We win cases; save children from abusive MEN, etc. etc. How about that, ABA? Put that in your pipes and smoke it, MEN!
Posted by Bob Leen - 3 months, 6 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes ago
It’s clear that the ABA has taken sides in this ongoing dispute. This story is not news, its pure journalistic sensationalism. If every judge (or attorney) who on occasion had fallen asleep for a moment or two, after listening to much of the boring trial testimony and legal arguments all of us must endure from time to time, were attacked like Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson has been, we would have no one left in the judiciary or in the ABA.