She was elected by the people, but a court order is keeping her off the bench. On Wednesday, Judge Elizabeth Halverson responded to allegations she's made a mockery of courthouse security by hiring her own body guards.
Halverson believes politics got her banned from the building. "I would prefer to be doing the job I was elected to do," said Judge Halverson.
Judge Halverson says she doesn't know if there's a vendetta against her, but it's clear, she says, someone at the Regional Justice Center simply doesn't like her. That person, according to Halverson, is Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle, who last week signed an order to keep Halverson out of the building.
"I don't have a requirement that says everybody on earth who's met me has to like me. But she does have to give me the same respect as every other judge, which is - I'm an elected official and the people of Nevada put me on the bench even though she didn't approve, and she's free to vote against me every time."
The trouble started last week when Halverson fired an assistant for allegedly fixing traffic tickets. The court administrator went with the fired employee to collect her things. Halverson ordered them to leave, barricaded herself in chambers, and called 911.
It also came out that Halverson had hired her own security guards who may have bypassed security.
Denise Rosch: Do you think you could effectively return to the bench because of all these conflicts?
Judge Halverson: Yes I do, because these conflicts are about the politics of the courthouse. They're not about doing the job.
And Wednesday morning, Halverson took her case to the airwaves, answering questions on KNPR's State of Nevada. She said Chief Judge Hardcastle was wrong to take away her criminal cases. A problem that arose just weeks before the courthouse lock-out.
"It would be like if you were at work and some colleagues began telling you what to do in your work, how to do it," Halverson said. "Whether you can come in or not, well those people who work with you don't have authority to tell you that."
But critics say Halverson was making mistakes on the bench such as speaking with jurors outside the presence of attorneys. Halverson provided News 3 with video from court. She says, it was the attorneys' idea.
And then there's the question of courthouse security. Halverson claims her private security guards did go through courthouse metal detectors, that there was no breach of security. Either way, she's not coming back until the Nevada Supreme Court rules on the issue. And a hearing date has not been set.
Court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer says this entire matter could be resolved if Halverson would come in and talk about it. He says she has options. "She can call a meeting of the full panel of judges. 33 district court judges have elected Hardcastle chief judge. Halverson can actually call a meeting of the judges and challenge the chief judge's decision."
So far that hasn't happened. Meaning a judge elected by the people is no longer doing the people's work.
