Summary: Las Vegas Judge Diana Hampton was found dead in her home on Sunday.
A stripper-turned-judge was found dead in her home on Sunday, the Las Vegas Review Journal said. The Las Vegas authorities stated they don’t suspect foul play, but they are still early in their investigation.
City police showed up at the home of Henderson Municipal Judge Diana Hampton after responding to a welfare check on Sunday afternoon. The coroner reported that the 50-year-old had died that day but would not disclose the cause of death.
Local judges and lawyers expressed their shock, saying she was a healthy “fitness guru” who was very dedicated to her career. She served as a municipal judge for over a decade, and before that, she was the deputy city attorney who prosecuted drunk driving and domestic abuse cases. In 2010, she introduced a youth program called “Life of Crime,” which was aimed at discouraging young people from criminal activity.
The judge’s stripper past came under scrutiny in 2005 when Hampton first ran for her position. It was revealed she slid down the pole a year before going to law school, and her opponent tried to use her past to embarrass her, apparently not paying attention to the voter demographic. (I mean really–judging a stripper in Las Vegas is like judging a butcher in Omaha.) His smear tactic backfired when Hampton responded in the classiest way possible. She embraced her past and said it had nothing to do with her ability to do the job. Voters agreed, and quite frankly, seeing a stripper work hard to better her life and help others is inspiring, not shameful.
Hampton won the 2005 election and won re-election in 2011. The next election for her position would have been in 2017.
Source: The Las Vegas Review Journal