Nevada judicial panel files formal charges against Pahrump Judge Fiore

The formal charges against Michele Fiore put Pahrump’s main justice court under a sharper spotlight at the exact moment the judge remains sidelined from the bench. With Fiore still under an interim suspension upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court in April, the case raises immediate questions about who is handling the everyday matters that move through the Pahrump Township Justice Court and how long the uncertainty will last.

The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline filed a formal statement of charges against Fiore on April 24, alleging three violations of Nevada’s judicial code of conduct. That filing moved the matter out of the preliminary phase and into the commission’s formal discipline process, which now gives the panel the authority to press those allegations against the elected justice of the peace for Pahrump Township.

Fiore’s position matters far beyond the politics surrounding her name. The Pahrump Township Justice Court sits at 1520 E. Basin Ave., Suite 104, and it is one of Nye County’s three justice courts, along with Beatty and Tonopah. In Pahrump, a community of 44,738 people in the 2020 Census, the courtroom is a central part of local government, handling routine proceedings that affect residents, businesses and law enforcement. When the judge in that court faces formal discipline, the fallout reaches directly into public trust and court operations.

The charges also keep alive a broader legal and political story that has already stretched across multiple forums. Fiore was convicted in federal court in 2024 on wire-fraud-related charges tied to fundraising for memorial statues honoring two slain Las Vegas police officers. Prosecutors alleged the fundraising money went instead to personal expenses, including rent, plastic surgery and her daughter’s wedding.

Despite that conviction and the suspension already in place, Fiore remained on the ballot. She filed for re-election to the Pahrump justice of the peace seat on Jan. 6, 2026, and Nye County’s official notice for the June 9 primary includes Pahrump Justice of the Peace, Department B. That leaves voters in a position to weigh a seat that is both on the ballot and still entangled in judicial discipline proceedings.

For Nye County, the immediate issue is not abstract legal theory. It is whether the judge elected to serve one of the county’s busiest population centers can continue to function in that role while the formal charges advance and the suspension remains in force.