THE FAMILY COURT PROJECT HAS COME TO A CLOSE.
Effective 6/1/08, Family Court Chronicles has become inactive (announcement), and
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the webmaster will
continue to correct significant errors and will consider
removing information that is destructively obsolete.
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In initial interviews with police, Martino said he could not believe Reeves would injure Zander. Martino later changed his statement to, " 'I believe now wholeheartedly she did,' " said Lisa Myk, an abuse and neglect specialist for Las Vegas police.
Reeves is facing a lesser charge of second-degree murder. She has denied injuring Zander, but after her arrest Reeves told Myk that one or two days before Zander's death, Martino had hit the child "so hard she had to leave the room," Myk said.
"Mr. Martino is the person who did the fatal injuries to the baby, and she (Reeves) had knowledge and was aware that it happened," prosecutor Vicki Monroe said.
Recounts testimony of a bailiff who was later reassigned to Family Court.
District Judge Elizabeth Halverson's former bailiff testified that she fell asleep daily in court and frequently told him to shoot her husband, according to transcripts of a closed-door hearing that were made public Wednesday.
Johnnie Jordan, who began working as Halverson's bailiff when she took office in January, told the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission at a July 16 hearing that his boss told him "plenty of times" that she wanted him to shoot her husband, a convicted felon whom she called "Evil Ed" and other derogatory names. ...
Jordan, who never before had worked as a bailiff, testified that Halverson "fell asleep every day" in court. He said she once was in such a deep sleep that he failed to wake her by slamming a heavy courtroom door "two or three times."
When his efforts failed, Jordan testified, he sought help from Halverson's secretary, Ileen Spoor, who roused the judge. ...
Jordan, who testified that he has filed racial discrimination and sexual harassment complaints against Halverson, now works in Family Court but is no longer a bailiff.
Comments from the Webmaster
When we last saw Jordan, he was working as bailiff at Family Court.
What is he doing now?
(A bailiff hired by a judge is "exempt" position with no job security.)
Police found feces on walls, a stash of marijuana and a refrigerator containing nothing but yogurt when they entered the home of Brian Atkinson Turner, son of former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, according to a police report.
The Las Vegas police discovery led to the arrests of Turner and his wife, Kathryn O'Gara, on child endangerment and drug charges Tuesday. ...
Turner, 24, and O'Gara, 25, were arrested on charges including child endangerment and possessing marijuana with intent to sell.
Their 2-year-old daughter was taken to Child Haven by Clark County Child Protective Services.
Turner and his wife had been under police scrutiny because of money his mother had paid them from her campaign. During the 2004 election cycle, Atkinson Gates paid the couple and their company, Advibe Advertising, $407,343 from her campaign funds.
In mid-April, authorities confirmed that months earlier, an investigation had been launched into whether Atkinson Gates had received kickbacks from that money.
Thursday in District Judge Jackie Glass' courtroom, the 24-year-old was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison for killing Gilbert Archuleta.
Glass, who presides over the Clark County Mental Health Court, called the case tragic because Layman didn't receive the mental health care he needed.
At 17, Layman was the victim of repeated sexual assaults by a female guard while incarcerated at the Summit View Youth Correctional Center between November 2000 and January 2001. The corrections officer, Jennifer Burkley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in sexual relations with a prisoner and was honorably discharged from probation for the gross misdemeanor in October 2003.
French said Layman went to Summit View because he had smoked pot, didn't follow the juvenile judge's sentencing requirements for community service and missed a court appearance.
Layman filed a federal lawsuit against the officer seeking money to help pay for his mental health care. Attorneys for Youth Services International, which operated the now-closed facility, stated in their motion to dismiss that their neuropsychologist found Layman's psychological problems were related to severe drug abuse and not the sexual assault.
The camp isn't a locked facility, but it is controlled like a military camp. The juveniles are supervised at all times by probation officers. The juveniles wake at 6 a.m. - 7, at the latest, on weekends - and do chores and other work to earn their keep. Lights are out by 9 p.m.
The camp has had ongoing funding issues, and the county recently lost a battle in Carson City over increasing the state's contribution to the facility.
But according to county administrators, the camp is working, at least according to short- and medium-term measurements. During the past five years, 80 percent to 85 percent of the roughly 230 youths who attend the camp each year are deemed "successes" - meaning they have completed their full probation sentence and have not committed any new crimes. ...
Clark County bought the site from the Army Corps of Engineers in 1970. Initially, the camp mostly housed delinquents for short stays, while they awaited trial or sentencing.
In 2004, many started being sentenced to the camp for longer stays, and the Spring Mountain School - a Clark County School District facility - broadened its reach to accommodate them. Now, most youths stay at the camp for six months. The camp can house 100 offenders. ...
Currently, Clark County provides more than 95 percent of the camp's $7.1 million operating budget. The bill would have upped the state's share from about $340,000 to $1.8 million. It failed, but a last-minute push by county lobbyists persuaded lawmakers to pony up a one-time $400,000 appropriation for the camp.
Valentine oversees the county's $5.7 billion budget and 10,500 employees. She reports directly to the commissioners and can be fired by them.
She presented them with a short list of accomplishments, including the streamlining of board meetings and the reorganization at UMC. That reorganization included presenting to the commissioners $19 million in cost savings by cutting some contracts and services and improving overall efficiency at the public hospital.
The county also reached an agreement with the Youth Law Center and American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada regarding how to improve the county's Department of Family Services. The two organizations had been threatening to sue the county regarding cases of abused and neglected children.
A Clark County grand jury has indicted a juvenile corrections supervisor on felony child abuse charges. The long-time county employee is accused of injuring a mentally disabled teen in his custody.
Metro police allege Thomas Gallia, a supervisor at the Clark County Juvenile Corrections Center, pushed a teenage inmate so hard that he fell and broke his wrist. ...
Back in May, Cherie Townsend, the director of the department, pledged an internal investigation of the incident. It is now complete. However, the county will not share any of its findings, calling it a personnel matter.
The son and daughter-in-law of former Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates were arrested on felony child endangerment charges Tuesday after marijuana and unkempt conditions were discovered in their Southern Highlands home, Las Vegas police said....
The officers called Child Protective Services, which removed the child from the home, and narcotics detectives, who removed what appeared to be equipment used to grow marijuana plants. The detectives confiscated about six sun lamps, seven boxes of pots for plants, a six-foot section of ventilation hose and two metal canisters of carbon dioxide.
Recent columns on Bergeron's battle have mobilized a small army of supporters for the girl paralyzed in a vicious knife attack in 2003 that killed her 3-year-old sister. Her mother, Tamara Schmidt, was convicted of felony child neglect and is in prison. While her birth mother is away, Brittney has thrived under the care of foster parents Judy and Bill Himel.
If the many Southern Nevadans I'm hearing from had their way, the adoption would take place immediately. Cynical Southern Nevadans are ready to rally behind Brittney.
The injustice being done this young person borders on cruelty. Her request is not some childish whim. Once you get to know her even slightly, it becomes obvious that she's trying to move on with her life and leave behind a nightmare no child should have been forced to endure.
Comments from the Webmaster
This is the same tired Brittney Bergeron story recycled yet
again with nothing new added.
Unfortunately, there is a little matter of the law to consider.
Parental rights cannot be terminated arbitrarily, even if the
child wants it. (What child wouldn't want to be terminated from their
parents at some point in their adolescence?) The legal standard is
by necessity very high, and it was not met in this case.
(See Judge Hardcastle's TRP ruling
from June 2005.)
We are coming to regard John L. Smith as a true idiot in the mold
of Jane Ann Morrison. Once a reporter reaches "pundit" status, like
these two have, they don't have to obey the rules of journalism anymore—like actively soliciting and fairly considering
opposing viewpoints. These
erstwhile journalists just write their feelings—no research
or understanding required.
Inquiring minds seeking state judicial records under today's independently developed polices and procedures probably will encounter as many different sets of rules as there are courts.
A new draft proposal prepared by members of the Nevada judiciary and being circulated for discussion could make the process more uniform and easy to use by the public. ...
Some of the types of cases that would be excluded from public access under the policy include adoptions, child abuse and neglect matters, juvenile delinquency and paternity.
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8/22/07:
Judge weighs child's death: Prosecutors want couple tried on murder charge
(Las Vegas Review-Journal/K.C. Howard)
Entities:
Zander Martino (case),
Kisha Earhart (testimony by),
Lisa Myk (testimony by) 
8/16/07:
DISCIPLINE COMMISSION: Staff: Judge slept on job: Hearing transcripts reveal allegations against Halverson
(Las Vegas Review-Journal/Carri Geer Thevenot)
Entities:
Elizabeth Halverson (subject),
Johnny Jordan (testimony of) 
8/11/07:
Police find filth, drugs, guns in neglect probe: Child taken into custody; parents cited for intent to sell marijuana
(Las Vegas Review-Journal/Brian Haynes)
8/10/07:
Mental illness cited in slaying case sentencing
(Las Vegas Review-Journal/K.C. Howard)
Entities:
Summit View Youth Correctional Center (abuse mentioned) 
8/8/07:
Clark County Juvenile Corrections Officer Indicted
(KLAS-TV/Colleen McCarty)
Entities:
Thomas Gallia (subject),
Cheryln Townsend (briefly mentioned),
Clark County Juvenile Detention Center (incident at) 
8/8/07:
DRUG, CHILD ENDANGERMENT ALLEGATIONS: Ex-official's son jailed: Tip led to arrest of relatives of Atkinson Gates
(Las Vegas Review-Journal/Brian Haynes)
8/4/07:
Court access policy drafted: Officials want to clarify process for how documents will be handled
(Las Vegas Review-Journal/Sean Whaley)
