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LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Elizabeth Halverson is a judge. But the way courthouse staffers see it, she expects to be treated like a queen.

Her former bailiff, for example, says Halverson made him feel like a "houseboy." He says the judge -- who is obese and uses a motorized scooter to get around -- made him put her shoes on her feet, massage her back, cover her with a blanket for naps and make sure her oxygen tank was filled. He says she asked him, "Do you want to worship me from near or afar?"

Halverson also surrounded herself with her own hired guards, saying she did not trust the courthouse security force to protect her. Another time, she allegedly had her husband sworn in so that she could ask him under oath whether he had completed chores at home.

Since then, the 50-year-old Nevada district judge has been locked out of her Las Vegas courtroom, suspended from the bench and brought up on judicial-misconduct charges that include not only misusing her position and treating her staff like personal valets but also tainting juries and falling asleep on the bench.

Nevada's judicial discipline commission is preparing for a week of open hearings next month that could put an end to Halverson's career.

Many lawyers are unwilling to talk publicly about the case because of the powerful figures involved, but expect the proceedings to be entertaining, to say the least.

Halverson denies the allegations.

"We believe the Judicial Discipline Commission has overreached," said her attorney, John Arrascada. "It's apparent that some people believe her physical appearance somehow makes her unable to perform her duties as a judge." He added, "Last time I checked, being a judge doesn't require a beauty contest."

Halverson holds a law degree from the University of Southern California and worked as a law clerk in the state court for nine years before she was elected to the bench in fall 2006. She handled civil and criminal cases alike.

When the bailiff who complained about her, Johnnie Jordan Jr., was reassigned, Halverson hired her own guards and let them bypass security checks at the courthouse. She called 911 when court administrators tried to enter her office.

In May 2007, the chief Clark County District Court judge, Kathy Hardcastle, locked her out of her courtroom. The following July, six months after Halverson was sworn in, the commission suspended her, accusing her among other things of creating a hostile work environment, hiring a technician to try to hack into the courthouse computer system, and causing mistrials in two sexual assault cases by improperly meeting with jurors.

The commission declared that she posed "a substantial threat to the public or to the administration of justice."

The case is laden with subplots. Hardcastle dismissed Halverson as a law clerk in 2004, saying that such a position is typically a short-time job and that it was time Halverson moved on. Halverson then mounted an unsuccessful bid for Family Court judge against Hardcastle's husband.

Hardcastle has insisted her actions against Halverson weren't personal.

Jeffrey Stempel, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said he is troubled by what appears to be an attempt to "micromanage" a judge.

"Judicial removal should generally be reserved for corruption and complete incompetence or inability to do the job," Stempel said. "One question you have to ask is, `Is this judge so bad we have to remove her before the voters have a chance to do so?' "

Dayvid Figler, a defense lawyer, said he had no complaints after trying cases in Halverson's courtroom.

"In fairness, she believes she's fighting the fight of a maverick," Figler said. "I think her position is, 'Why should I be another cog in the machine? Isn't it what the voters elected me to do, bring change?' "

Amid the hullabaloo, Halverson has filed for re-election in August to a six-year term and is soliciting contributions on her Web site. But she has also filed a request to stop the election, claiming that the Legislature unconstitutionally changed the procedures. She continues to draw her $130,000-a-year salary.

Halverson did not respond to an interview request. A shirtless man who answered the door at her home pointed to a "no trespassing" sign and ordered a reporter off the property. The yard is clean these days, after the city cited Halverson for leaving it strewn with junk and letting the water in her pool grow murky and stagnant.

In documents denying the allegations, Halverson has blamed disgruntled employees and vindictive colleagues.

She has submitted a report from a therapist who diagnosed her with an adjustment disorder, anxiety and depression. And she produced a letter from her physician, Dr. Michael Jacobs, who said she is diabetic, uses a wheelchair because of arthritis in her feet and knees, and needs oxygen to counteract the effects of sleep apnea.

Jacobs said a drop in blood sugar may have caused a brief episode in which she fell asleep in court. But he said there is no physical reason Halverson cannot be an effective judge.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Albuquerque police have taken doughnut runs to new heights, swooping down in a police helicopter for a late-night snack.

"I don't know how they decided that was a good idea," the department's spokesman, Lt. Bob Huntsman, said in a copyright story in Friday's Albuquerque Journal.

The Albuquerque Police Department has two helicopters for routine night patrols, and Huntsman said it costs about $80 an hour to keep one of the Kiowa copters flying. The pilot "who is not a police officer" is under contract to the department.

"We're going to look into it," Huntsman said. "If they violated policy or procedure, they're going to get disciplined for it. We've worked too hard to make this a professional unit to let lack of common sense tear us down."

Rio Rancho resident Keith Turner, who works near a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop on Albuquerque's west side, said he was taking a break with other people between 12:30 and 1 a.m., Thursday, when a police helicopter swooped down, circled and landed in a nearby dirt field.

"I was like, 'No, they'd better not go and get doughnuts,"' Turner said.

One of those aboard got out and went inside while the helicopter idled, he said. The passenger returned to the helicopter 10 to 15 minutes later carrying a box of Krispy Kremes, he said.

"I was angry, and I'm still kind of angry," Turner said. "You've got no business flying in to get doughnuts."

The chopper gave what Turner presumed was a goodbye toot on its police siren as it took off, he said.

Huntsman confirmed the incident, but said he had not had a chance to speak to those aboard. He said it appeared the duo were near the end of their shift and probably were flying back to the hangar on the west side.

"As far as we know, they did bring doughnuts back," he said.

But sadly all the evidence disappeared.  /caseclosed

Surprising absolutely no one, Nintendo took the number one and two slots in hardware sales. The Wii sold 714,200 units while the Nintendo DS moved 414,800 units (third place sales go to the PSP with 192,700 units). This month the Wii outsold the Playstation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, and Xbox 360... combined.

While Grand Theft Auto IV took up the first (360) and third (PS3) slots in software sales, Mario Kart Wii came in number two with 1.12 million units sold in April. Frazier calls it "a classic example of counter-programming." Wii Play came in number four with 360,000 units sold, Super Smash Bros. Brawl came in at number five with 326,000 units, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness and Time came in at numbers seven and eight, with both games selling 202,000 units. Guitar Hero III took the number nine slot with 152,000 units. All told, Nintendo games took up six of the top ten games for April. 

Court says money discriminates against blind people

1 hour, 36 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish among the bills' varying values, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
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The ruling upholds a decision by a lower court in 2006. It could force the Treasury Department to redesign its money. Suggested changes have ranged from making bills different sizes to printing them with raised markings.

The American Council for the Blind sued for such changes but the Treasury Department has been fighting the case for about six years.

"I don't think we should have to rely on people to tell us what our money is," said Mitch Pomerantz, the council's president.

The U.S. acknowledges the design hinders blind people but it argued that blind people have adapted. Some relied on store clerks to help them, some used credit cards and others folded certain corners to help distinguish between bills.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient. The government might as well argue that, since handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask for help from strangers, there's no need to make buildings wheelchair accessible, the court said.

Courts can't decide how to design the currency, since that's up to the Treasury Department. But the ruling forces the department to address what the court called a discriminatory problem.

Pomerantz says it could take years to change the look of money and until then, he expects that similar-looking money will continue to get printed and spent. But since blindness becomes more common with age, people in the 30s and 40s should know that, when they get older, "they will be able to identify their $1 bills from their fives, tens and twenties," he said.

Officials at the Treasury Department and the department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints the nation's currency, had no immediate comment on the ruling. The government could appeal to the Supreme Court.

While the government has been fighting to overturn the lower court ruling, it has been taking some steps toward modifying U.S. currency for the visually impaired.

The most recent currency redesign of the $5 bill introduced in March features a giant "5" printed in purple on one side of the bill to help those with vision problems distinguish the bill.

The appeals court also ruled that the U.S. failed to explain why changing the money would be an undue burden. The Treasury Department has redesigned its currency several times in recent years, and adding features to aid the blind would come at a relatively small cost, the court said.

Other countries have added such features, the court said, and the U.S. never explained what made its situation so unique.