Suspended Clark County District Court Judge Erika Ballou has agreed to resign from her position and not seek a future judicial position in Nevada, according to documents filed this week to the state’s supreme court.
A stipulation and order of consent to Ballou’s immediate resignation and permanent bar from judicial office was filed Wednesday.
Ballou’s agreement with the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline comes after the commission upheld a suspension for the rest of her term in March. Ballou had been accused of defying the Nevada Supreme Court by releasing a prisoner and not ordering the prisoner to be taken back into custody when the high court reversed her decision on appeal.
“Respondent (Ballou) agrees that, after resigning from her judicial office, she will neither seek nor accept judicial office in the State of Nevada at any time in the future, nor will she undertake or perform any duty within the definition of ‘Judge’ set forth in” state statute, the order said.
The State Bar of California website shows Ballou reactivated her law license on Sept. 23, the day her suspension took effect and listed her professional address to the Martinez & Dietrich Legal Group in Edinburg, Texas.
Ballou, who was elected in 2020, would have been up for re-election this year, but she did not file to run in January. That means that prosecutor Colleen Brown, the only candidate to file for Ballou’s Department 24 District Court seat, essentially won by default.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X.
