20-05-2025
Michele Fiore suspended from Nye County bench with pay following Trump pardon
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Pahrump judge and former Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore will remain suspended from the bench after receiving a presidential pardon, for now.
Last month, President Donald Trump pardoned Fiore, a Nye County Justice of the Peace, after a jury convicted her of taking money meant for fallen police officers' memorials and spending it on herself. The jury deliberated for two hours, convicting her in federal court on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud.
Following Fiore's federal indictment last July, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended her from office with pay amid the proceedings. The commission later suspended her without pay after her conviction. The commission held a hearing on Friday, May 9, following the pardon to discuss its next steps.
In an order filed Monday, the commission kept Fiore suspended pending a final review, citing the allegations against Fiore as 'a substantial threat of serious harm to the public and to the administration of justice.' Fiore will be suspended this time with pay.
The order notes the commission 'has received additional complaints against [Fiore]' since the pardon. There was no indication in the document filed Monday when the commission could complete its investigation.
'When does this end?' Paola Armeni, Fiore's attorney, said during the May 9 hearing. Armeni added the commission only has jurisdiction over a judge's actions as a sitting judge.
'The commission can no longer issue, rescind, and reinstate based on this conviction, based on the pardon,' Armeni said. 'There is nothing before this commission about her conduct as a judge, nothing.'
Trump pardoned Fiore on April 23. First elected as a Republican Nevada assemblywoman in 2012, Fiore later served as Las Vegas mayor pro tem and unsuccessfully ran for governor and treasurer as a Republican. Nye County Commissioners appointed her to her judgeship in late 2022. Last June, before her indictment, voters re-elected Fiore, who is not an attorney, to that position.
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