LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A district court docket choose is accused of violating Nevada’s judicial code of conduct, once more, by refusing orders from the state supreme court docket, paperwork mentioned.
Clark County District Court docket Decide Erika Ballou faces six new counts from the Nevada Fee on Judicial Self-discipline involving a prison case that the 8 Information Now Investigators first highlighted. Ballou beforehand admitted she violated a number of ethics guidelines in an unrelated fee case the place she posted a photograph of herself in a scorching tub with public defenders and made feedback about police.
In 2017, Mia Christman, now 31, was sentenced to jail for collaborating in a violent crime spree when she was 18. She pleaded responsible to 2 felony prices. In 2021, Ballou vacated Christman’s conviction and launched her from jail.
Prosecutors took the case to the Nevada Supreme Court docket. Ballou ignored two separate orders: one in 2022 and one other in 2023, the criticism mentioned.
This new criticism, filed April 24, alleges Ballou confirmed bias towards Christman and ignored the excessive court docket.
“This conduct demonstrated her total disregard for binding higher court authority,” it reads.
The fee additionally alleges she “failed to timely schedule an investigative interview,” main the physique to subpoena her.
Final 12 months, the fee mentioned Ballou violated three guidelines requiring a choose to advertise public confidence and keep away from impropriety and the looks of impropriety, to place duties of the judicial workplace earlier than their private and extrajudicial actions, and to point out that they’ll stay neutral.
Because the 8 Information Now Investigators beforehand reported, a number of the prices in that criticism centered round social media posts, one the place Ballou appeared to state that circumstances the place defendants will not be in custody needs to be tossed out and one other the place she posed with two people from the Clark County Public Defender’s workplace in a scorching tub and referred to “t***.”
Final 12 months, Clark County District Legal professional Steve Wolfson filed a petition with the court docket, asking a choose to take away Ballou from all prison circumstances the workplace prosecutes. In his movement, Wolfson referred to Ballou’s habits as “egregious,” and wrote, “The stakes are extraordinarily high for Judge Ballou since one potential outcome of this ethics complaint could be her removal from judicial office.”
Ballou served as a public defender for greater than 15 years earlier than being sworn into the bench in 2021. Her present time period ends in 2027.
An lawyer for Ballou didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
