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Deputy Adam Stoddard helped himself to attorney
Joanne Cuccia's files. (Photo from security footage)
On October 19 of this year, Maricopa County, Arizona, Detention Officer Adam Stoddard was caught by surveillance cameras helping himself to a document from a defense attorney's files. He and his colleagues photocopied the document before returning it to attorney Joanne Cuccia. Responding to a formal complaint, Judge Gary Donahoe ordered the errant lawman to apologize at a press conference. Egged on by the county sheriff, Stoddard publicly refused. Now the officer has been ordered to jail. But will he go?
The showdown may have been inevitable as soon as Judge Donahoe issued his unusual (and possibly unconstitutional) order in what may have been a misguided attempt to spare the officer a fine or jail time -- the usual penalties for contempt of court. But Maricopa County's Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- the self-proclaimed "America's toughest sheriff" -- isn't known for apologizing, or for observing legal niceties. Arpaio announced, "My officer was doing his job, and I will not stand by and allow him to be thrown to the wolves by the courts because they feel pressure from the media on this situation." He added, "I decide who holds press conferences and when they are held regarding this Sheriff's Office."
Adhering to Arpaio's line, Stoddard held a press conference on the last day allowed by Donahoe's order, but what he said wasn't exactly what the judge had in mind.
I am Maricopa County Detention Officer Adam Stoddard. I work in the Court Security Division of the Sheriff’s Office and have been with the Sheriff’s Office for five years.
Recently, Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe ordered me to hold a press conference to publicly apologize for doing the job I have been trained to do.
Part of my job in providing security to the court is to inspect documents brought into the courtroom. On October 19th, I saw a document that I had not yet screened, and that raised security concerns. I retrieved that document in plain sight and had court personnel copy it to preserve it as evidence in case it was a security breach.
It was a split second decision and I do not regret my actions.
Judge Donahoe has ordered me to feel something I do not and say something I cannot. I cannot apologize for putting court safety first.
The judge therefore puts me in a position where I must lie or go to jail. And I will not lie.
See a video of the conference below.
Now, surprise, surprise, the Maricopa County Superior Court says that Officer Stoddard will have to do what any mere civilian would have been forced to do to begin with -- report to jail to serve out the usual sentence for his offense.
But ... the jails in Maricopa County are run by Stoddard's boss, Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- the same guy who instructed his underling to flip the bird to Judge Donahoe to begin with. Will Arpaio actually cooperate with the court and throw the officer behind bars?
And what about making escaping a stretch in jail conditional on obeying a kiddy-time order to apologize? Judges normally can't compel people to espouse opinions they don't hold; will that complicate matters as Stoddard and company appeal the sentence up the judicial food chain?
Stay tuned to developments in Maricopa County to see whether the police will agree to submit to punishment for an act the court has already held to be a crime.
email J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com
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Comments
You say Arpaio doesn't "observe legal niceties." Why not stop mincing words and just say it - the man is a criminal, a rogue cop who defies the law rather than upholds it.
Clarification: while Arpaio has not yet been convicted of a crime, he does spit on the Constitution. And the article author who trivializes the Bill of Rights as "legal niceties" is his enabler in this.
I see here a deputy glanced back and cased the observers in the court pews to make sure no one was there who would know he was doing wrong. #2, he then waited til the judge launched into her scripted litany before he moved toward the papers. #3, he timed his steps in resonance with the judge's speaking speed. This is a well-recognized Stealth Technique he used against a sitting Judge. #4, he used Ms. Cuccia as his shield blocking his actions, and he continued to make his moves while she was occupied speaking to the judge.
This man is a criminal not a Deputy. He then makes a hand signal over to his cohort in crime the other deputy, gives HIM the paper to remove from the courtroom without telling Ms. Cuccia who is busy defending her client.
#5, the opposing lawyer purposely disagreed to being able to appear at 8:30 AM, which threw the judge to 9 AM upon which she then remembered she was busy. This is such a RAPE of Ms. Cuccia, her client and the Judge. All are being taken advantage
This deputy, Stoddard right?, looks like a Texas Ranger we all know, love and respect played by Chuck Norris. God help all the women lawyers who graduate from Sandra Day O'Connor School of Law because this is a Hate crime against these women attorneys of the Highest Order.
She and the Judge were raped without removing their clothes. If this "Deputy" is not burned or buried inside prison walls it will be a PERMANENT NATIONWIDE STAIN that the State of Arizona will have to wear for decades for its total incompetence to recognize the psychological tricks these deputies used against their own judge and lawyer just because they're women law graduates.
A Msg for Deputy Stoddard: Friend, you have committed crimes against the Judge and Ms. Cuccia that is being seen what all you did. You used your short height so the judge wouldn't watch you sliming around behind Ms. Cuccia while they were doing their jobs and speaking the legal stuff you lacked the brains to learn.
The world knows => [refused link on Current dot com] <> and I will make sure they understand the evil you did against these women.
Gravity_Man told you that.
If Arpaio refuses to jail this criminal deputy, then Arpaio will be in contempt of court and the judge can bring state law enforcement assets to bear to placy "Sheriff Joe" in the hoosegow also. Which he should have already done, anyway.
throw this clown behind bars and launch an investigation on arpaio's people.
A Msg for Deputy Stoddard: Friend, you have committed crimes against the Judge and Ms. Cuccia that is being seen what all you did. You used your short height so the judge wouldn't watch you sliming around behind Ms. Cuccia while they were doing their jobs and speaking the legal stuff you lacked the brains to learn.
The world knows => [refused link on Current dot com] <> and I will make sure they understand the evil you did against these women.
Gravity_Man told you that.
The parasite claimed "I saw a document that I had not yet screened, and that raised security concerns". What kind of person is scared of words printed on paper? Oh, yeah: evil tyrannical scum, that's who.
I do think it would be poetic justice to have Arpaio in his own prison surrounded by people he has metaphorically (?) raped. I'll bet the brave sheriff would be spending all his time pleading for his life like the pathetic coward he really is.
Yes, judge's order is unconstitutional. more later
If it weren't for the fact that at least one person in this case actually deserves better than all this (the defendant, whoever she is and whatever she may or may not have done), this would be nothing less than high comedy. So a spoiled brat spits arrogantly on a (quite unethical) "professional courtesy" after getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Brat's chest-thumping big-daddy swoops in and makes it known who owns this town. Pi$$ing match (thanks, Examiner censors) ensues between two thoroughly untenable positions. Man, this has it all!
And every bit of it shows just how broken this system is, in which the state gets to make its own law, then enforce it (and boy, does it love enforcement), and then judge its own actions--at no point realistically accountable to anyone but itself. It's as utterly inevitable as it is absurd*.
Pass the popcorn, show's not over yet!
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* Sad part is, we've earned that.
Here is the correct headline, from another media outlet: "Maricopa Sheriff’s Deputy Ordered to Jail for Stealing Defense Documents." The headline on the Examiner's article shows ignorance of both the law and the judge's order, and the Examiner should publish a correction.
"cl", you seem to be working very hard to ignore JD's use of sarcasm here. To call JD an Arpaio "enabler"...well, that's just funny, right there.
And you can get just as all-legal as you like (go nuts, man: as this case makes perfectly clear, what does it mean anyway?), but anyone can see that if Stoddard does go to jail at all, it will be because of his defiance of the apology, not for pilfering documents. To suggest otherwise is sophistry.
the case being heard at the time should have been thrown out because Officer Adam Stoddard contaminated any and all evidence...his illegal actions showed the sheriff's department's willingness to illegally obtain evidence...and Officer Adam Stoddard should be federally charged with denying the civil rights of the defendant.
Any one who views the FTR of this event can plainly see that what the deputy did was blatant and wrong. I wonder how he will feel after being used as a pawn by Sheriff Joe for his own agenda and then left to hang in the wind. As someone who knows the courts first hand, the court room deputies are not always the best or brightest. I hate to see this young man used in such a way and unfortunately not even be aware of it. I for one plan to campaign for whoever will run against Joe and for whatever office he may seek. It is the blue hairs of Sun City that assure his election. It is time to start really educated them on the real Sheriff Joe. I also want to point out how grascious Ms. Cuccia has been through this whole ordeal.
Walrus has the absolute right of it. If they cheat they lose.
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