LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An attorney for embattled Nye County Justice Court Judge Michele Fiore on Friday argued her client should be restored to duty, thanks to a pardon issued by President Donald Trump.
Fiore — a former Nevada assemblywoman and Las Vegas Council member — was convicted on federal wire fraud charges in October. A jury found Fiore used money raised ostensibly to pay for a statue to honor a fallen Las Vegas police officer instead for personal expenses.
VIDEO: Steve Sebelius provides the latest on the suspension of Michele Fiore
A judge denied Fiore's bid for a new trial in April. Just six days later, Trump issued Fiore a full pardon.
Fiore, appointed to the Nye County bench in 2022, was suspended by the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission in July, after a federal grand jury handed up an indictment on the wire fraud charges, but allowed to keep her $90,000 annual salary. After she was convicted in October, the commission modified her suspension to suspend her without pay.
But now, with Trump's pardon in hand, Fiore is fighting to get back into the courtroom. The commission's agenda said members would decide whether a continued suspension was warranted or "if [Fiore] poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public or the administration of justice" following her presidential pardon.
Her attorney, Paola Armeni, said on Friday that the commission had little choice but to let Fiore resume her duties.
"To the extent that any additional suspension continues, I submit that it would exceed this commission's jursidction and would be an abuse of discretion," Armeni said.
Armeni made three basic arguments:
- The pardon essentially erases Fiore's conviction, and to the extent she was suspended based on that conviction, she should be allowed to resume her job.
- The commission has jurisdiction only over a person's conduct on the bench. The conduct for which Fiore was convicted took place years before she was appointed, and later elected, to her judicial job, and is thus beyond the commission's reach.
- Fiore poses no danger to the community. If she did, Armeni argued, she would not have been released during her trial, since a prerequisite for such a release is that a defendant doesn't pose a threat.
Still, the commission is considering whether to continue Fiore's suspension. Deliberations began immediately after Friday's hearing, but no decision was released as of Friday afternoon.
"But that puts us in a question today of, when does this end?" Armeni asked. "The commission can no longer issue, rescind, and reinstate based on this conviction, based on the pardon. So we're in a situation that, there will never be a sentencing and there will never be a judgment of conviction based on the timing of the pardon."
The pardon came before Fiore was scheduled to be sentenced.
After the 20-minute hearing, Commissioner Karl Armstrong said the commission will go into private session to deliberate.
Fiore, in a text to Channel 13, said: "I deeply respect the process and appreciate the opportunity to be heard. My attorney, Paola Armeni, presented our position with clarity, integrity, and legal brilliance. I will respectfully wait for the Judicial [Discipline] Commission to issue its decision and remain hopeful for a fair and just outcome."
