Woman returns to Las Vegas-area prison to finish serving sentence previously vacated
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A defendant whose sentence was previously vacated returned to prison Wednesday to finish serving her original sentence. Mia Christman, 30, surrendered to the Nevada Department of Corrections the day after she was ordered to, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Clark County District Court Judge Erika Ballou who vacated the sentence was removed from the criminal case. The Nevada Supreme Court ordered Clark County District Court Judge Jerry Wiese to remove Ballou from the case last Friday after Ballou did not follow two previous orders.
Woman must finish serving sentence after previous Las Vegas judge vacated it
Clark County District Court Judge Eric Johnson ordered Christman to surrender on May 7th. Johnson issued a bench warrant Tuesday afternoon after Christman did not surrender by noon.
Christman was part of a violent crime spree at the age of 18. She pleaded guilty to two felony charges and was sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison.
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Christman began serving her sentence in 2016 and would have been eligible for release in 2026, according to the Department of Corrections.
In an appeal, Christman’s attorney, Betsy Allen argued that Christman was the victim of sex trafficking and childhood trauma.
Ballou vacated the sentence in 2021 resulting in Christman’s release from prison before she finished serving the original term.
Johnson rescinded Ballou’s judgment in Christman’s case, ordered Christman to serve the remainder of her sentence, and vacated any pending court hearings to discuss modifying Christman’s sentence in his May 6th order.
In a previous interview with the 8 News Now Investigators, Christman discussed Ballou’s decision.
“It felt like somebody took a chance on me,” she said.
While out of custody, Christman said she has stayed out of trouble and also had a baby. She said she was concerned her son would end up in the child welfare system if she had to go back to prison.
The Clark County District Attorney continued to fight for Christman to serve the remainder of her sentence and argued that Christman was manipulating the system again. Christman failed to cooperate and disappeared twice before her guilty plea, according to prosecutors.
Allen argued that prosecutors had knowledge that Christman was a sex trafficking victim, while prosecutors said she recently claimed her co-defendant was her pimp.
The Nevada Supreme Court reversed Ballou’s order in 2022. Ballou did not send Christman back to prison.
The Nevada Supreme Court issued an order again in 2023. Ballou still did not send Christman back to prison.
The Nevada Supreme Court pointed to “the district court’s failure to comply” in its May 3rd order.
Allen and Christman went to the pardons board in March which denied their request. Nevada Supreme Court Justice Douglas Herndon expressed frustration.
“This is kind of turning our pardons process on its head,” Herndon said. “The walls are closing in on the District Court that is shockingly refusing to do its job.”
District Attorney Steve Wolfson filed a complaint with the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline on April 30th accusing Ballou of five violations.
“Judge Ballou failed to perform all duties of judicial office fairly and impartially when she repeatedly acted in favor of Christman and against the state,” Wolfson wrote. “Judge Ballou’s bias has caused her to ignore the Nevada Supreme Court for nearly two years and impaired the fairness of these proceedings.”
Ballou already faces ethics charges for several separate incidents including a photo of Ballou in a hot tub with two public defenders.
Ballou served as a public defender for over 15 years before being sworn into the bench in 2021. Her current term ends in 2027.
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