Las Vegas NowI-Team: Administrators Fire Back at Embattled Judge Halverson

I-Team: Administrators Fire Back at Embattled Judge Halverson

A major development Wednesday afternoon in the case of District Judge Elizabeth Halverson. Court administrators filed hundreds of pages of documents with the Nevada supreme court, backing up their case to ban Judge Halverson from the courthouse. 

Late Wednesday afternoon, court administrators filed a 256-page brief with the Nevada Supreme Court in Carson City. In the documents, administrators fire back at Judge Halverson who says she was unjustly barred from the courthouse by Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle.

Many of these documents are confidential personnel records which are now part of the public record. In them, Judge Halverson's staff members lay out the details of what they view as abuse and a hostile work environment within the judge's court room and private chambers. 

Bailiff Johnnie Jordan says he had to... "have petitioner's water pitcher filled with the correct ratio of ice/water and at the correct temperature, gives petitioner back massages, cleans petitioner's chambers when it is littered with sunflower seeds, cookie crumbs and papers all over the floor."

"...listen to petitioner's mother ask her if he was her servant."
"... Be threatened with 'do you want to worship me from near or afar?'"

Judge Halverson's former assistant Ileen Spoor says she and the law clerk had to wait by the elevator to wait for Judge Halverson's arrival. 

"... And having to stand at attention like soldiers and escort petitioner to her chambers."

The Supreme Court has several options. It can order what is called an evidentiary hearing which would involve testimony and witnesses. It can order oral arguments where just the attorneys would argue in front of the justices or it could simply make a decision based on all the written briefs.

The Supreme Court has no timeline in which it has to take action.

Email your comments to Investigative Reporter Mark Sayre.