CARSON CITY, Nev. (CN) - A suspended Nevada justice of the peace pardoned by President Donald Trump on wire fraud convictions argued Thursday to the state Supreme Court that a judicial oversight commission should back off.
Michele Fiore, who's running for her old justice of the peace job in Nye County, is fighting a legal battle on different fronts. She's argued the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline improperly suspended her with pay in the wake of her federal indictment. She also wants the high court to force the commission to dismiss a complaint filed against her.
A former Assembly member, Las Vegas council member and Republican firebrand, Fiore has said the commission based its decisions on conduct that happened before she became a judge or on convictions wiped away by the presidential pardon.
The seven-member Supreme Court made no decision Thursday.
Attorney Theresa Shanks, representing the commission, said the body isn't currently pursuing disciplinary action against Fiore. It's only investigating whether Fiore committed acts while on the bench - like withholding ill-gotten money tied to her criminal convictions - that could negatively affect public perception of the judiciary.
"A judge shall not violate the law, and the law is not limited to criminal law," Shanks said. "That is Canon 1."
The commission isn't examining Fiore before she became a judge. Instead, it's looking at email complaints it received about her conduct while on the bench, Shanks added.
The Nye County Commission appointed Fiore in late 2022 to the judgeship. She won an election for the seat in 2023.
A grand jury indicted her in July 2024. The commission first suspended her from office with pay in October 2024, the month a jury convicted her. It changed her suspension to with pay after her April 2025 pardon.
The commission has narrowed its investigatory focus, examining any acts Fiore possibly committed while on the bench, not the criminal conduct before she had the office, Shanks said. That makes the pardon a moot issue.
"This is only in the investigatory stage," Shanks said. "We don't know what we don't know."
Representing Fiore, attorney Paola Armeni questioned whether the commission truly had no intention to examine her client's conduct before taking the bench.
"I wasn't able to count how many times 'guilty verdict' was said in that argument," Armeni said.
Fiore argues the commission violated Fiore's rights with its suspension. She claims the commission based its decision on a criminal conviction that had been pardoned, as well as on conduct that occurred before she became a judge.
Additionally, Fiore never received formal notice or had a chance to speak to the commission. It also wrongly determined that Fiore posed a substantial threat of harm to the public or administration of justice, Armeni argued.
One justice questioned why the commission shouldn't proceed with an investigation, asking if it had no right to probe a judge. Armeni said any investigation would be bootstrapped to Fiore's criminal case - accusations that occurred before she became a justice of the peace.
Armeni also brushed aside the handful of emails Shanks said people sent complaining about Fiore.
"They're just upset about her getting a pardon," she added.
The commission instead failed to account for some 180 letters of support for Fiore, including the unanimous approval of the Nye County Commission.
Fiore's conviction stemmed from accusations she pocketed funds intended for a memorial for slain police officers.
According to prosecutors, Fiore told donors to write checks to a bank account that she controlled. She or another person would collect the checks. Fiore then concealed the fraudulently gained money by transferring it from a political action committee and charity's bank accounts to accounts controlled by her and others.
Source: Courthouse News Service
