On Wednesday, The Globe obtained exclusive footage and broke the story of a Clark County District Court Judge, Erika Ballou, spewing anti-police rhetoric in her courtroom during a criminal trial. Ballou tells a black defendant, “[As a black woman], I don’t want to be around where cops are because I don’t know if I am going to walk away alive or not.”
Last night on Fox News, Laura Ingraham covered the story on The Ingraham Angle and our scoop formed the core of a lengthy story by Emma James in the Daily Mail, as well. (The Nevada Globe is grateful for the acknowledgements!)
This afternoon, Sheriff Joe Lombardo, GOP nominee for Nevada Governor, called on Judge Ballou to resign over the clear bias she demonstrated from the bench. Lombardo also called upon Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak to demand Ballou’s resignation.
President Steve Grammas of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, a union that has endorsed Lombardo and represents 3,500 police officers, also called for her resignation. In a statement to The Globe, Grammas remarked:
“On behalf of the men and women of law enforcement, the Las Vegas Police Protective Association takes exception to Judge Erika Ballou’s disparaging comments about police officers. We call upon Judge Ballou to resign from the bench. We also ask the Judicial Ethics Commission to sanction her for violating the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct.
Among other obligations, the rules require the judiciary to, “[A]spire at all times to conduct that ensures the greatest possible public confidence in their independence, impartiality, integrity, and competence.” Judge Ballou has demonstrated that she is biased against law enforcement and cannot live up to the standards required of a jurist.Judge Ballou’s comments, from the bench, that she, “does not want to be around where cops are because I don’t know whether I am going to walk away alive or not…” are both unethical and irresponsible. Police officers and the law abiding citizens of our community deserve better from the judiciary.”
This is a developing story…