Patricia Doninger
Patricia Doninger was a domestic violence commissioner and hearing master for the family court in Clark County, Nevada. She began serving as a domestic violence commissioner in late 1998 or early 1999. She was fired on June 14, 2013, following allegations of misconduct that gained national attention.[1][2][3][4] (See below.)
Education
Doninger received her undergraduate degree from the University of Miami. She was awarded a J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law and was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1984.[5][6]
Noteworthy events
Doninger allegedly ignores defendant as she is assaulted in courtroom (2013)
Doninger, along with other employees of the family court, was investigated for misconduct in an alleged cover-up of a sexual assault by a court marshal. Monica Contreras, 28, was in family court with her daughter on August 8, 2011. After coming from a drug search in another room, Contreras complained to the judge that Marshal Ron Fox had sexually assaulted her. She said that he groped her and order her to lift her shirt so he could check for drugs. The courtroom video then shows Fox and another marshal, James Kenyon, handcuffing and arresting Contreras for making false allegations. Some have condemned Doninger for not intervening in the situation, though she was in the room when the incident took place.[7]
Fox denied the allegations, but was later fired. He subsequently filed a lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully terminated from his employment. Contreras' charge was later reduced from providing false information to misdemeanor disorderly conduct. In May 2013, she entered a plea of no contest.[7]
| Courtroom video of Judge Doninger on August 8, 2011 |
Lawsuit filed against those involved in courtroom incident
On April 5, 2013, Contreras filed a federal lawsuit against Fox, Kenyon and Doninger, as well as Clark County, the state of Nevada and the courts, saying that her civil rights were violated. The complaint stated: "The wrongful conduct of defendant Fox was intentional and evilly motivated, and the wrongful conduct of defendants Kenyon and Doninger involved reckless, callous and deliberate indifference to plaintiff’s federally protected rights."[8]
Doninger fired following courtroom incident
Although details were not provided, a local television news station received confirmation from the court that Doninger was fired on June 14, 2013.[9]
Settlement
Monica Contreras, the alleged victim in the 2011 groping incident, settled her lawsuits with the state for $200,000 in July 2014.[10]
See also
External links
- 8 News Now, "I-Team: Lawsuit Filed in Alleged Family Court Cover-Up," April 5, 2013
- Las Vegas Tribune, "Court Hearing Master Patricia Doninger Must Go," April 6, 2013
Footnotes
- ↑ Patricia Doninger information on the Clark County Bar Association web-site
- ↑ Las Vegas Sun, "Plan introduced to speed up protective court orders," January 27, 1999
- ↑ KLAS-TV, "I-Team: Hearing Master No Longer Employed By Court," June 14, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Tribune, "Clark County Court to Patricia Doninger: YOU’RE FIRE(sic)," June 19, 2013
- ↑ State Bar of Nevada, "Patricia Doninger"
- ↑ Las Vegas Tribune, "To believe the unbelievable," April 10, 2013
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Las Vegas Review Journal, "Allegations of misconduct, cover-ups invade Family Court," March 17, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, "Victim of Family Court groping incident files federal lawsuit," April 5, 2013
- ↑ 8 News Now, "I-Team: Hearing master no longer employed by court," June 14, 2013
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Nevada OKs $200,000 settlement in marshal groping case," July 9, 2014
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Nevada • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Nevada
State courts:
Nevada Supreme Court • Nevada Court of Appeals • Nevada District Courts • Nevada Justice Courts
State resources:
Courts in Nevada • Nevada judicial elections • Judicial selection in Nevada
