A Las Vegas judge who ran with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America sat next to two public defenders in a hot tub and complained about having to work early in the wake of Billie Eilish’s trial. He has been criticized for his social media posts. concert.
Clark County District Court Judge Erica Ballou has been formally charged by the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission for two social media posts that jeopardized public confidence in her judicial judgment as part of an ethics violations investigation. I was given a letter.
Ballou, who was sworn in on January 4, 2021, is charged with two counts of violating the Revised Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct, according to formal charges reviewed by The Post.
According to the formal indictment seen by the Post, the judge attended the Life is Beautiful music festival on September 19, 2021, and at 10:46 p.m. He is said to have made inappropriate comments about the incident.
“Life is still beautiful even though Bill Eilish isn’t even 30 minutes into it. Tomorrow is 8:30 on the calendar,” Barrow wrote on Instagram, adding the hashtags “VacateTheS–tOuttaOutofCustodyCases” and “WherelnTheWorldIsCarmenSanDiego.” It is said that he posted it with
The committee found that Ballou’s posts violated three of the four “norms” of the Code of Judicial Conduct, including Rule 1 and Rule 1.1. Fraudulent. “
The Judiciary Law also provides that “the duties of the judicial office established by law shall prevail over all personal and extrajudicial activities of judges.”
The post also violated the requirement that judges’ personal lives take a backseat to their judicial activities.
According to the Canon, “Judges shall carry out their personal and extrajudicial activities in order to minimize the risk of conflict with the duties of the judicial profession.”
Judges may engage in extrajudicial activities unless prohibited by law or this Code. However, when judges engage in extrajudicial activities, they must not participate in activities that interfere with the proper performance of their judicial duties.
Ballou’s second count references Facebook posts the judge made in April 2022 with two people certified by the commission as public defenders.
The post showed a bikini-clad Ballou with his arm around a shirtless Robson Howers while another woman, Shauna Browers, stood next to them in a hot tub.
The post was captioned: “Robson surrounded by tits.”
Hauser is a deputy public defender with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office, and Brouwers is an attorney with the office, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
Barrow said that Article 2, Article 2.4 (C ) has been charged with violating some of the first three “norms.” judge. “
Ballou’s previous comments have come under scrutiny after anti-cop advice she gave in court led to calls for her resignation from the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing metropolitan police officers. There is.
“You make the decision not to run from the police. You are a black man in America. You know you don’t want to go where there are police,” Barrow said in July 2022. . She is an older, middle-class black woman. She doesn’t want to be where the police are because she doesn’t know if she’ll leave alive. ”
“Hey, Judge, you’re a disgrace to the court” police union tweeted at that time. “You have dishonored the robe you wear. You must resign immediately.”
Before entering the judiciary, Ballou was a public defender, social justice organizer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, the paper said.
As a public defender, Ballou staged a type of protest in 2016 after he disobeyed a judge’s order to remove him. “Black Lives Matter” button from her shirt, since political or opinionated statements of protest are not allowed in court.
A hearing in Ballou’s ethics case has not yet been set.
