LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Clark County District Court judge has been suspended after a state commission found evidence of judicial misconduct.
On Monday, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline, which oversees judges across the state, issued an order suspending Judge Erika Ballou from the bench for six months. Before she can return to the bench, Ballou has been ordered to complete a specialized remedial training program with the National Judicial College.
You can read the full order below.
This is all related to the case of Mia Christman. In 2017, she pleaded guilty to two felony charges: robbery with use of a deadly weapon and stop required on signal of police officer. Other charges, including battery and robbery, were dropped as part of a plea deal, and she was sentenced to spend up to 10 years in prison, according to court records.
In 2021, the matter was brought before Ballou. In a motion, Christman stated she "received ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase of her case." Ballou ruled in Christman's favor and ordered that she be released from prison.
Prosecutors for the State of Nevada appealed, and in August 2022, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed Ballou's decision. Instead of complying with the Supreme Court's order, Ballou scheduled another hearing to allow Christman to present additional evidence. That was appealed back to the Supreme Court, which once again told Ballou to enter a judgment in favor of the state.
In May 2024, the Supreme Court directed the Chief Judge of the Eighth Judicial District Court to reassign Christman's case to a different district court judge who followed the court's orders, and Christman reported back to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.
Ballou was accused of six counts of judicial misconduct and, according to Monday's unanimous ruling, the commission found her guilty of three of those counts.
"Throughout her involvement in the Christman cases, Judge Ballou exhibited a pattern of conduct that demonstrated a clear bias in favor of Christman and against the state," an April document reads in part. "Notably, Judge Ballou failed to comply with the express mandate of two Supreme Court orders in the Christman case. This conduct demonstrates her total disregard for binding higher court authority."
You can read that document below.
This isn't the first time the commission has disciplined Ballou.
In June 2024, she was ordered to complete a National Judicial College online course entitled "Judicial Ethics and Social Media: A Lightning Course" after posting statements and photos on social media that the commission deemed inappropriate. Those included a photo in a hot tub between two public defenders with the caption "Robson is surrounded by great tits" as well as a photo from the Life Is Beautiful festival with the caption "Life is STILL beautiful, despite the fact that Billie Eilish doesn't START for 30 minutes and I have an 8:30 calendar tomorrow."
You can read that order below.
In March 2025, Ballou, who is a former public defender, was also removed from her criminal cases by Clark County District Court Chief Judge Jerry Wiese. That was due to accusations made by a public defender who claimed Ballou had accused her of having an affair with her client in open court.
As Channel 13 has reported, Ballou has also faced controversy for previous comments and rulings she's made from the bench.
In July 2022, the Las Vegas Police Protective Association publicly called for her resignation over comments she made during a probation revocation hearing.
You can watch our full report here:
And in December 2024, 13 Investigates reported on the sentencing of a teenager who sexually assaulted and tried to kill his therapist during a counseling session at Spring Mountain Youth Camp.
Watch Darcy Spears' reporting here:
Nevada District Court judges serve six-year terms. Ballou was elected in 2021, and her term is scheduled to end in 2027.