Michele Fiore asks for expedited appeal of suspension to improve 2026 re-election odds

Michele Fiore is asking the Nevada Supreme Court to expedite her appeal to reverse her suspension from the bench as she prepares to run for re-election in 2026, according to a court document filed Friday.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline suspended Fiore from her position as a Pahrump justice of the peace in May after a federal jury found her guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud charges in October 2024.

Prosecutors accused Fiore, a former Las Vegas councilwoman, of defrauding donors of tens of thousands of dollars raised to build a statue of a slain Metropolitan Police Department officer by using the money on personal expenses, including rent, plastic surgery and her daughter’s wedding. President Donald Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon for Fiore that protected her from facing criminal sentencing.

Without an expedited review that reverses her suspension, the new filing argued that Fiore’s re-election campaign “will be clouded by misinformation” about her current suspended status, causing “imminent and irreparable harm” to her re-election odds, Fiore’s court filing said. The filing period for judicial candidates runs from Jan. 5 to Jan. 16.

“Voters aware of Judge Fiore’s current suspension will likely presume she is ineligible and/or unfit for the bench. This would deprive the public of the opportunity to be able to fully evaluate an incumbent judge as well as undermine the fairness of the election from the outset,” the filing read.

Fiore’s lawyer, Paola Armeni, said she believes her client’s suspension is “completely unwarranted.”

“She should not be suspended right now,” Armeni said. “I think there’s a difference between what was allowed when the indictment originally came down and now what’s going on with the suspension.”

Alternatively, the request asked for Fiore’s suspension to be temporarily halted pending the resolution of her appeal. The filing argued that, if Fiore wins re-election and remains suspended, Pahrump Justice Court will generate a substantial backlog of cases while Nye County taxpayers continue paying for pro tempore justices to work on an interim basis in her absence.

“The damage done to both the integrity of the election through the voters’ eyes and the time and expense bore by Nye County litigants cannot be satisfied with mere compensatory relief,” the filing read. “The only adequate remedy is expedited relief from this court by way of its broad power under the Nevada Constitution.”

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.