Barker also briefly referred to Edward Halverson's 1988 criminal conviction for cocaine possession in Texas and noted that it will be up to a parole board to determine when he gets out of prison.

Elizabeth Halverson was elected to the bench in 2006, but served only a few months before she was suspended with pay in July 2007.

Halverson faced televised public hearings in August on a laundry list of allegations, including that she had a court bailiff rub her feet, improperly met with jurors, let her personal bodyguards bypass courthouse security, fell asleep on the bench and had her husband sworn in to ask if he'd completed household chores. She blamed accusations against her on vindictive colleagues and disgruntled employees.

The judicial commission permanently barred her from the bench. Outside court, Halverson said she did not know the status of her appeal.

Her lawyer in that case, Michael Schwartz of Farmington Hills, Mich., did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.