A Las Vegas judge has been publicly condemned and ordered to take a legal ethics course after posting photos of herself in a hot tub with public defenders.
Judge Erika Ballou, 52, admitted to ethics violations in an agreement and censure order with the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline.
The committee had filed a complaint against Ballou earlier this year, centering on social media posts.
Ballou shared a photo on her Facebook of herself in a hot tub with two public defenders, captioning it that one of them was “surrounded by amazing t*ts.”
The photo showed her in a swimsuit alongside Shana Brouwers and Robson Hauser, with the latter shirtless and smiling at the camera.
Clark County District Court Judge Erika Ballou admitted to ethics violations in an agreement and censure order with the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline
The photo showed her in a swimsuit alongside Shana Brouwers and Robson Hauser, with the latter shirtless and smiling at the camera
A complaint was also filed for a second post she made, in which she apparently complained about working the next day after a Billie Eilish concert.
The post read: ‘Life is STILL beautiful, despite the fact that Billie Eilish doesn’t start for another 30 minutes and I have an 8:30 am schedule tomorrow.’
It also included the hashtag ‘Vacatethe[Explitive]OuttaOutofCustodyCases,” which suggests that defendants who are not in custody should have their cases dismissed.
The commission said Ballou violated their rules requiring a judge to promote public trust and prevent impropriety, which she admitted.
After Ballou agreed to the censure, the committee decided not to pursue her over a post containing the lyrics of a Cardi B song in response to the complaint about her posts.
In the order filed Tuesday, Ballou said the messages were intended to be private and did not affect her work.
There was also another count of comments she made during a police hearing in July 2022.
The Las Vegas Police Protective Association called for her to resign after she made comments about officers.
Ballou shared a photo on her Facebook of herself in a hot tub with two public defenders, captioning it that one of them was “surrounded by amazing t*ts.”
She said at the time: ‘You are the one who makes the decision not to run away from the police.
“You’re a black man in America. You know you don’t want to be anywhere where the police are.
“You know you don’t want to be anywhere where the police are, because I know there aren’t, and I’m a middle-aged, middle-class black woman.
“I don’t want to be anywhere near the police because I don’t know if I’m going to walk away alive or not.”
District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Thursday that the censure supports his position that Ballou should be removed from supervision of criminal cases involving cases.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that a judge last week denied the prosecutor’s request, ruling that only the chief judge has the power to deny her.
The commission said Ballou violated their rules requiring a judge to promote public trust and prevent impropriety, which they admitted
A complaint was also filed for a second post she made, apparently complaining about working the next day after a Billie Eilish concert
The outlet reported that Wolfson has since filed a new petition in another of Ballou’s criminal cases.
Ballou earns more than $155,000 a year, although she says her total salary and benefits are just under $262,000. Transparent Nevadaa, which tracks the salaries of government employees.
She was elected chair in November 2020 and took her position in January 2021, having previously served as a deputy public defender for 15 years.
Before serving as a judge, Ballou was also a social justice organizer and member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
She got into trouble after refusing to remove a “Black Lives Matter” pin in court in September 2016 while still working as a deputy public defender.