Attorneys give judge high marks despite personal problems

The ongoing flap between Family Court Judge Steven Jones and District Attorney David Roger isn't exactly the judge's first brush with controversy.

Henderson police responded to domestic violence calls at his home, including separate calls involving a wife and later an alcoholic girlfriend.

His questionable associations with felons piqued the interest of the FBI.

And in 2006, he raised campaign contributions, even though he didn't have an opponent, which has since been made illegal for judges.

On the up side, Jones consistently receives high ratings in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's "Judging the Judges" survey. In the past six evaluations, he has received retention ratings between 72 percent and 89 percent from attorneys, pretty high numbers for any judge in Family Court.

I receive more calls asking me to investigate Family Court cases than any other single subject. Attorneys tell me Family Court has the most problems and some of the weakest judges.

That may be one reason that Jones shines despite past personal problems.

He is a Family Court judge with personal experience in domestic violence.

In 1999, police arrested his wife for abusing him by hitting him with a shower rod and a floral arrangement. He is about 6-foot-5, fit and husky. Deborah Jones was five months pregnant.

Then there was his girlfriend, Amy McNair, who said he abused her over a chicken nugget. In 2006, a Henderson judge acquitted Jones of the charges after she recanted, blaming her alcoholism, and the couple reconciled. In 2010, McNair was sent to prison for a felony DUI.

News accounts about his questionable financial relationships and associations also raised eyebrows over the years. In 2006, he collected campaign donations even though he was unopposed. That has since been made illegal for judges and one reason they filed for office in January. Without an opponent, they can't obtain campaign dollars.

Jones has been a Family Court judge since he was first elected in 1992. In 1996, he tried to fast-track to the Nevada Supreme Court with a war chest of $442,000, but failed.

The Review-Journal's Lisa Kim Bach provided further details in 2006 in an in-depth examination of Jones. But people forget.

I suggested in 2010 when he was last up for re-election that he deserved an opponent although he'd never had one. He drew one, yet won with ease with 53 percent of the vote.

While Jones can be a bully, he can also be a charmer.

He has charmed former Deputy District Attorney Lisa Willardson, who has emailed friends about the "HOT" judge.

The twosome insist in sworn affidavits they weren't dating before November, but their emails suggest otherwise. A grand jury probe will examine whether Jones and Willardson perjured themselves in their affidavits.

I first met Willardson in the spring when she was honored as a volunteer as part of National Crime Victims Week. Divorced from a wealthy businessman, she had the financial security to be able to work for the office without a salary.

She prosecuted child-abuse-and-neglect cases for two years before Roger fired her Dec.13 as a result of the dispute over whether she was dating Jones while working in his court, a no-brainer conflict if true.

Willardson doesn't understand why her relationship with a judge has gained so much attention when others in the justice system have dated. She cited examples of people who work together in one form or another who dated or married, including Roger, who dated and married a prosecutor in his office.

When she canceled an interview with me she wrote, "I'm just one small person that wanted to make a difference and now my legal career is over."

She's probably right about that.

If Jones is found to have lied in an affidavit, that could end his judicial career.

Did Willardson and Jones delude themselves into thinking their suggestive October emails would never surface? Think again.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison.