Judge Conrad Hafen & Zohra Bakhtary
The judge who kicked off a storm of criticism over handcuffing a public defender during a hearing got the boot from local voters.
Judge Conrad Hefen, a Nevada justice of the peace, had public defender Zohra Bakhtary handcuffed in the jury box back in May. He complained that she kept talking over him. There’s something to be said for a judge maintaining control over his courtroom from defense attorneys hellbent on provoking a reaction solely to circumvent the rules and earn a recusal, but there’s not much in this record to suggest Judge Hefen wanted anything but to streamline the sentencing process by removing defense counsel from the picture so he could pontificate on the defendant’s misdeeds uninterrupted.
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This earned praise from some and outrage from others, ultimately sparking an ethics complaint lodged against the judge.
Personally, I came down on the “outrage” side, at least based on the public record of the proceeding. And it looks like most of the voters in Vegas agreed, because Judge Hafen went down to a resounding defeat last night to challenger Amy “JoAnne” Chelini, a defense attorney and former prosecutor.
In the race for Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Dept. 14, Amy “JoAnne” Chelini, a longtime defense lawyer and former prosecutor, collected 62.4 percent of the vote and unseated incumbent Conrad Hafen, with 100 percent of the votes in.
Hafen drew criticism from groups of defense attorneys after ordering a public defender handcuffed in court last month.
Chelini relied on backing from 26 different organizations, including police, unions, fire and veterans groups, along with support from friends and family.
“It’s surreal. It means more to me than I can tell you,” Chelini said. “I’m honored that the voters have the confidence in me to do the job, and I’m not going to let them down.”
Yes, it is surreal to have your opponent implode in a public scandal right before the election. What’s more surreal, is that supporters of both major party candidates for president expect their opposition candidate to suffer a similar fate and it’s hard to believe they’re both wrong about that.
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Chelini Unseats Judge Hafen, Who Had Lawyer Handcuffed [Review Journal]
Earlier: When Handcuffing A Lawyer In Your Courtroom Is The Right Call
When Filing An Ethics Complaint Against A Judge Is The Right Call
Federal Judge Goes Ballistic On Defense Counsel During Hearing
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.