Nevada judge banned from bench working as Utah city attorney

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A former Nevada judge who was banned from the bench is working as a city attorney in Utah, an official said.

Conrad Hafen in January became an assistant city attorney in the small city of Saratoga Springs, south of Salt Lake City, The Deseret News reported Monday.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline publicly censured Hafen following confrontations that happened in his courtroom from 2014 to 2016.

Hafen, a Utah native, then lost a bid for reelection as a Las Vegas justice of the peace in 2016 and signed an agreement not to contest the censure or serve again in a Nevada judicial position in February 2017.

Hafen applied for the Saratoga Springs position after spending about two years working as a part-time employee in the city’s recreation department, city spokesman David Johnson said.

“He has decades of professional experience and education,” Johnson said. “He has credentials to practice law, and he was the most qualified candidate for the position.”

Hafen, who retained his license to practice law in both states, did not return a message seeking comment.

A former lead prosecutor in the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Hafen was elected to a six-year term as a Las Vegas justice of the peace in 2010.

He ordered defense attorney Zohra Bakhtary handcuffed and detained after repeatedly warning her she would be found in contempt if she continued talking in May 2016.

Handcuffing Bakhtary drew criticism from a Las Vegas defense attorneys union and prompted the Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice group that represents criminal defense lawyers to seek sanctions against Hafen from the disciplinary board.

The commission found Hafen abused his authority and failed to file written contempt-of-court filings. Three of four of the courtroom events cited in the sanction involved Bakhtary.