[NV] Judge Halverson, accused of abuses herself, now in hospital after being beaten

...Routinely, [Judge] Halverson screamed at staffers, referring to them with such demeaning epithets as “the elf,” “the evil one,” “bitch” and “the Antichrist.” Even her husband wasn’t immune to the treatment. According to court documents, several staffers complained that in their presence Halverson would often call him “bitch” and “fucker”... [Halverson's former court bailiff, Johnnie] Jordan also testified that Halverson once asked him to shoot her husband and told him she would dispose of his body...

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ALLEGED: HALVERSON HUSBAND ARRESTED
Suspended judge undergoes surgery for beating injuries
Las Vegas Review-Journal
By David Kihara
Sep. 06, 2008
The husband of suspended District Judge Elizabeth Halverson is known as a devoted, patient spouse who would cook, shop and dote on his wife. But on Thursday night, Edward Halverson, 49, was arrested and accused of beating the judge with a frying pan. Nicknamed "Evil Ed" by his wife, Edward Halverson was booked into the county jail on charges of attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon and battery with substantial bodily harm. Elizabeth Halverson, who suffered severe injuries to her face, chest and upper arms, was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, authorities said... "It looks like she had been beat pretty bad," one police officer said... Edward Halverson has been arrested at least 10 times in three states on various charges, including cocaine possession and breaking into a house and stealing property. He was convicted of three felonies and served almost four years in prison. Elizabeth Halverson has been suspended from the bench since July 2007 but continues to draw her $130,000 yearly salary... People who worked with the judge testified at her August disciplinary hearing that Halverson screamed and berated her husband on the telephone in front of staff and said she wanted to kill him. Her former bailiff, Johnnie Jordan, testified at the hearing that she said to her husband, "I am sick of your ass. Why don't you do what the (expletive) I tell you"... [Neighbor, Richard] Isitt said he too was surprised by the arrest because Edward Halverson was so attentive to the judge's needs. Edward Halverson took time off from work to care for her and even cut back socializing with others because of her... [Full article here]

SUSPENDED LAS VEGAS JUDGE HOSPITALIZED
San Diego Union Tribune, United States
ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Ken Ritter
September 5, 2008
...“He hit her with a frying pan,” said Officer Jose Montoya, a Las Vegas police spokesman. Halverson, 50, told 911 dispatchers her husband was “going to beat her to death,” according to a police statement that said officers found her in a rear bedroom with severe face, chest and upper arm injuries. “She stated to the officers that her husband, Ed, had beat her up and had tried to kill her,” the statement said...
[Halverson's former court bailiff, Johnnie] Jordan also testified that Halverson once asked him to shoot her husband and told him she would dispose of his body. Jordan said he believed Halverson was serious, but admitted he never reported the exchange to police. [Full article here]

THE STRANGE SAGA OF JUDGE HALVERSON
KLAS-TV, NV
Mark Sayre, Reporter
Sep 5, 2008
...In her first TV interview, Judge Halverson denied allegations she verbally abused her staff but did admit to disparaging her husband, "I did call my husband an idiot in front of my staff, yes I did."
But in July of 2007, the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission filed a 14 count complaint against the judge and barred her from office. Just last month, a hearing took place on that complaint, including testimony from her former bailiff the judge made give her foot rubs.
"If you guys allow her to be in office after all of this, what does it say about all of you? I was up here robbed of my rights -- my dignity. How would you feel if it happened to you? How would you feel?" said former bailiff Johnnie Jordan... [Full article here]

FROM BEFORE THE BEATING:

YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME
It’s hard to shock them in Las Vegas, but a former law clerk is managing to do just that
ABA Journal
By Terry Carter
August 2007 Issue
At first glance, the quo warranto matter of Halverson v. Hardcastle before the Nevada Supreme Court looks like a civics lesson on how much authority a state court’s chief judge has over colleagues. But just a few flips into the hundreds of pages of pleadings, exhibits and affidavits—including formerly confidential documents circulated among judges, ad­ministrators and staff—there is a nasty battle involving a newly elected judge who figuratively turned the courthouse upside down, then literally got banned from it and locked out... Halverson, who weighs 425 pounds, moves about the courthouse with an electric scooter and breathes from an oxygen tank through plastic tubes attached at her nostrils... Though Halverson denies or minimizes much of it, hundreds of pages of formal complaints, sworn affidavits and official inquiries chronicle a mind-numbing series of accusations from a broad spectrum of county employees. For instance, Halverson’s bailiff, a black man, says he was ordered to rub her feet, give her back massages, put on her shoes, change her oxygen bottles and pick up papers, cookie crumbs and sunflower seed hulls strewn on the floor of her chambers. He eventually filed a claim for discrimination based on race, religion and sex... A courtroom clerk alleged that Halverson had her swear in staffers so she could ask them pointed questions under oath about what they might be telling other judges about her... ccording to several staffers, she often slept in court and court employees developed ways to signal each other when it was time for someone to wake her... Halverson admitted berating lawyers in open court for not having contributed to her election campaign... Routinely, Halverson screamed at staffers, referring to them with such demeaning epithets as “the elf,” “the evil one,” “bitch” and “the Antichrist.” Even her husband wasn’t immune to the treatment. According to court documents, several staffers complained that in their presence Halverson would often call him “bitch” and “fucker”... [Full article here]