Case Against Nevada Family Court Judge Steven Jones Cost Commission on Judicial Discipline Over $180k

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline spent at least $183,300 — more than three-fourths of its publicly funded fiscal budget in 2014 — pursuing a case against suspended Family Court Judge Steven Jones, according to its executive director.

“It’s outrageous,” Paul Deyhle said Tuesday. “It’s just one case, and it essentially wiped out our entire operating budget for the fiscal year.”

The commission’s budget for July 1, 2013, to June 30 was $240,269.

Deyhle said the Jones case has hindered the commission’s ability to investigate allegations of misconduct against other judges in the state.

“When you have a big case like this and have to take away resources for it, things get backed up,” he said. “There’s just so much we can do.”

The commission suspended Jones with pay Nov. 30, 2012, following his unrelated federal indictment in what federal prosecutors say was a $3 million investment scheme.

Since then, Jones has collected his $200,000 annual salary in all but three months. He has earned an estimated $266,000 and can look forward to receiving another $100,000 by the time his term on the bench is up at the end of the year.

The commission’s investigation of Jones became public in late December 2012, when it filed a formal statement of charges against the judge accusing him of mis­handling a romantic relationship with a prosecutor who appeared before him.

Deyhle said the panel has spent more than $183,300 investigating Jones over the past several years, but has only tracked its money in the case from the start of the 2014 fiscal year to April 15.

The money went to pay support staff, investigators and two special prosecutors to file and try the charges in front of the seven-member judicial commission, Deyhle said. Funds also were spent fighting legal efforts by Jones all the way to the Nevada Supreme Court to delay the disciplinary proceedings.

The commission also had to foot the bill for two public hearings — a week-long one in December to hear witnesses and evidence against Jones and a day-long proceeding in February to hand out punishment, Deyhle said.

At the February hearing the commission suspended Jones without pay for three months, finding that he had violated professional rules of conduct during his relationship with Lisa Willardson, the late former deputy district attorney.

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Case Cost Judicial Discipline Commission Over $180k