Bailiff Tells of Judge’s Shooting Remarks
The ex-bailiff for controversial Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Halverson testified that she frequently asked him to shoot her husband, according to recently released transcripts.
Johnnie Jordan said Halverson often made the remarks in front her husband, an ex-felon she called “evil Ed,” the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. But her spouse wasn’t present on one occasion when she said she would help dispose of the body, Jordan testified (PDF).
Jordan said he didn’t take the shooting remarks as a joke. “I didn’t know how to take it,” he said.
Jordan also said Halverson fell asleep every day in court. He claimed the judge, who used a scooter, made him put on her shoes, clean the lint off her robe, keep fresh ice water and heat her lunch in the microwave.
If he didn’t perform these duties to the judge’s satisfaction, she “hollered and was very aggressive,” Jordan said. He said he has filed racial discrimination and sexual harassment complaints against the judge.
The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline issued an interim order late last month that suspended Halverson with pay. The commission found the judge poses a threat of harm to the administration of justice, citing her inexperience and poor judgment.
Halverson has appealed the suspension. Her lawyers claim the hearing “lacked due process and was fundamentally unfair.”
