A Las Vegas judge, Erika Ballou, facing ethics violations related to her social media posts, responded to potential discipline with lyrics from a Cardi B song. The charges against Ballou include a post where she suggested that cases involving defendants not in custody should be dismissed and a photo of her in a hot tub with two individuals from the Clark County Public Defender’s office, accompanied by inappropriate language.
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The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline filed a formal statement of charges against Judge Erika Ballou, referencing an Instagram post from September 2021. In the post, Ballou mentioned attending a concert and using hashtags to suggest dismissing out-of-custody cases. “Life is STILL beautiful, despite the fact that Bille Eilish doesn’t START for 30 minutes and I have an 8:30 calendar tomorrow. VacateTheS–tOuttaOutofCustodyCases” and “WherelnTheWorldIsCarmenSanDiego,” Ballou allegedly wrote on one of the Instagram posts. The commission also mentioned a Facebook post from April 2022, where Ballou posed in a hot tub with two public defenders and made inappropriate comments,” according to Yahoo! News.
Ballou reportedly posted on Facebook, quoting Cardi B’s “Get Up 10” and expressed her perspective on the situation: “I started speakin’ my mind and tripled my views. Get money, go hard, you’re **** right,” the post continues. “Never been a fraud in my *** life. Get money, go hard, damn ***** right. Stunt on these ***** out of *** spite.
The commission alleges that Ballou violated several rules, including promoting public confidence, avoiding impropriety, and demonstrating impartiality.
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A public hearing for Ballou’s ethics case has not been scheduled yet. Ballou, who won her election in November 2020 and took office in January 2021, has faced criticism. In July 2022, the Las Vegas Police Protective Association called for her resignation and an ethics investigation after she made controversial comments about police officers.
Before becoming a judge, Ballou was a public defender and social justice organizer. She gained national attention in 2016 when she refused to remove a Black Lives Matter pin as ordered by a judge. The Clark County public defender’s office and the two public defenders mentioned in the hot tub photo have not responded to requests for comment.