A Las Vegas Judge with a history of bias and questionable ethics is now under investigation after several of her social media posts brought her professionalism and integrity into question. This week, the Nevada Commission of Judicial Discipline released a formal announcement of multiple ethical violations and charges against Clark County District Court Judge Erika Ballou.
Ballou was sworn in on Jan. 4, 2021. Three years later, she faces two counts of violating the Revised Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct. However, even before becoming a judge, Ballou was not without controversy as she worked as a public defender, a social justice organizer, and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. In 2016 she garnered headlines by first defying a judge when told to remove a “Black Lives Matter” button from her shirt, a position that she eventually relented from but not before drawing attention to herself.
Since being sworn in, Ballou has been busy offending people. In September of 2021, Ballou attended the “Life Is Beautiful” music festival. While there, she made an “inappropriate statement about her judicial duties on social media,” according to the charges against her.
On social media, she posted, “Life is STILL beautiful, despite the fact that Bille Eilish doesn’t START for 30 minutes, and I have an 8:30 calendar tomorrow.” She also posted the hashtags, “VacateTheS–tOuttaOutofCustodyCases” and “WherelnTheWorldIsCarmenSanDiego.”
The Commission found Ballou’s post violated three of the four “Canons” in the judicial conduct code, including Canon 1, Rule 1.1: “A judge shall uphold and promote the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.” Ballou’s post also violated the requirement that a judge’s private life take a back seat to judicial activities.
According to the Canons of Ethics, “A judge shall conduct the judge’s personal and extrajudicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with the obligations of judicial office.”
A judge may engage in extrajudicial activities, except as prohibited by law or this Code. However, when engaging in extrajudicial activities, a judge shall not participate in activities that interfere with the proper performance of the judge’s judicial duties.
Then in April of 2022, Ballou posted a bikini-clad picture of herself in a hot tub with Robin Hauers and Shauna Browers. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Hauser is a Deputy Public Defender with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office and Brouwers serves as an Attorney with the same office. Always the smooth talker, Ballou posted, “Robson is surrounded by great t**s.”
A Las Vegas judge is accused of ethics violations. The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline filed a formal statement of charges against Clark County District Court Judge Erika Ballou on Wednesday.https://t.co/vqPs6IyMnb
— 8 News Now (@8NewsNow) January 27, 2024
With that lovely post, Ballou is charged with violating parts of the first three “Canons,” including Canon 2, Rule 2.4 (C) which states, “A judge shall not convey or permit others to convey the impression that any person or organization is in a position to influence the judge.”
So partying in a hot tub with an attorney and the Deputy Public Defender with the Clark County Public Defender’s Office is justifiably frowned upon. Something you would think Ballou should not only know but would also respect.
Then in July of 2022, Ballou was hearing the case of a man accused of committing battery against an officer while on probation for an earlier case. In this instance, prosecutors were seeking to get his probation revoked. Footage showed Ballou speaking directly to the black suspect, KLAS reported.
“You’re the one making the decision not to walk away from cops,” Ballou told the defendant. “You’re a black man in America. You know you don’t want to be nowhere where cops are. You know you don’t want to be nowhere where cops are cause I know I don’t, and I’m a middle-aged, middle-class Black woman. I don’t want to be around where the cops are because I don’t know if I’m going to walk away alive or not.”
That unbelievably clueless remark from a supposed impartial judge is inexcusable and brought a response from the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, the union representing Metro police officers.
“Hey, Judge, you are a disgrace to the bench,” the police union tweeted at the time. “You have dishonored the robe you wear. You need to resign immediately.”
By the way, in that case, Ballou found the man in violation of his probation, which she promptly revoked, and reduced his sentence from 24-60 months to 19-48 months.
Following the accusations of ethics violations, a Clark County District Court representative said Ballou would "forgo the opportunity" to comment. However, the judge made additional posts on Facebook.
"Went from makin’ tuna sandwiches to makin’ the news," which is a lyric from Cardi B song "Get Up 10," Barstool Sports reported. "I started speakin’ my mind and tripled my views. Get money, go hard, you’re motherf**king right. Never been a fraud in my motherf**king life. Get money, go hard, damn f**king right. Stunt on these bitches out of motherf**king spite.”
Ballou has proven several things with her poor behavior. She is so full of herself and brimming with false entitlement, and all of it has blinded her to the traits a judge needs to fulfill her responsibilities. That said, I’m not convinced she ever possessed those traits to begin with. She is obviously not fit to be a judge, and after her actions while on the bench and her comments about the police, she needs to be disbarred as well.
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