LAS VEGAS -- Suspended Clark County judge Elizabeth Halverson had surgery Friday to repair fractures in her skull after her husband was arrested on suspicion of hitting her with a frying pan.

Halverson's friend, Bobbi Tackett, described the suspended judge's condition as serious. She is in "terrible pain," her eyes are swollen shut from bruises, after the procedure at Sunrise Hospital.

Edward Halverson, 49, was arrested on charges of attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon. He was being held pending an initial appearance Tuesday in Las Vegas Justice Court.

His 50-year-old wife was found in a rear bedroom of her Las Vegas home late Thursday with severe injuries. She told police that her husband had beaten her and tried to kill her.

Halverson was accused threatening her staff, talking with jurors in an inappropriate manner and falling asleep on the bench six months after appointed to the bench. She was suspended in July 2007.

The judge recently lost a primary bid for re-election and has been awaiting a decision from the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline on whether to sanction her or permanently bar her from the bench.