Felon alleging Clark County court corruption gets change of venue

A judge outside Las Vegas will decide whether a convicted felon who alleged widespread corruption within Clark County’s justice system should receive a new trial, according to court records published Tuesday.

Although the Nevada Supreme Court denied Marlon Brown’s challenge of his decadeslong prison sentence, his attorney continued to pursue efforts to remove District Judge Michelle Leavitt and void her orders in the case.

Leavitt could be a witness in Brown’s post-conviction hearings, according to a change-of-venue order from District Court Chief Judge Linda Bell intended “to avoid the appearance of impropriety.” Bell cited the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct and a decision from the Supreme Court Chief Justice James Hardesty.

Lawyer Michael McAvoyAmaya said he considered Tuesday’s order a partial victory for Brown.

“I think the reassignment to a new venue is an indication that our claims have merit, and he should get a new trial,” he said.

Through her lawyers, Leavitt has dismissed Brown’s accusations as “blatantly false and defamatory.”

Brown, 38, has alleged that the judge’s daughter had ties to a business Brown owned, which resulted in “a shocking willingness to engage in fraud and deceit to cover her tracks,” which Leavitt has denied.

In recent years, the judge oversaw Brown’s trial on battery and kidnapping charges for shooting his ex-girlfriend in the leg, ordered him to serve up to 45 years behind bars, sealed parts of his records and intervened in his appeal.

Brown owned a now-closed clothing store that another judge, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Melanie Tobiasson, has said was a front for an unlicensed club where teens drank, used drugs and engaged in prostitution.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.