Arizona court officers help themselves to defense documents

November 3, 11:46 AMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

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Maricopa County, Arizona, Detention Officer Adam
Stoddard takes a document from a defense attorney
Joanne Cuccia's files while her back is turned.
(Photo: from YouTube video)

Arizona Defense Attorney Joanne Cuccia was in court at the podium arguing on behalf of her client during a sentencing hearing when that client, Antonio Lozano, noticed two detention officers pilfering a document from Cuccia's fies behind her back. The incident, captured on video, interrupted the hearing, enraged defense attorneys and, unbelievably, spurred the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to defend the officers' actions.

Legal documents are privileged information, as well as private property, and so protected from casual pawing by agents of the state. But that didn't prevent Officer Adam Stoddard from casually strolling over to the table where Cuccia's files were laid out, extracting and reading a document, and then handing it to a colleague to be photocopied. His actions were recorded by security cameras.

Court officers are allowed to screen files to make sure that they don't contain contraband, and the Sheriff's office claims that was what Stoddard was doing -- examining a document that had escaped the screening process. But unless a pistol is duct-taped to a letter, officers aren't permitted to help themselves to confidential memos, briefs, motions, letters or any of the other contents of an attorney's files.

Sheriff's Deputy Chief Jack MacIntyre insists that nothing improper was done with the photocopied documents, which a judge has since determined were in fact subject to attorney-client privilege. MacIntyre told Phoenix's Channel 12, "The original papers were given back to the defense attorney, and the copy that was made was sealed in an envelope and given to county counsel. When county counsel read them, they gave them back to the defense attorney. Nobody from the Sheriff's Office ever read them."

We'll have to take the Sheriff's Office's word for that.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been notorious for years for using his power to spy on opponents, and even arrest journalists -- executives with the weekly Phoenix New Times -- who have been critical of his conduct. Arpaio and the Sheriff's Office are reportedly being investigated by the FBI for using threats and intimidation to settle political scores. Among those known to have been scrutinized, arrested or raided by Arpaio's deputies are candidates who ran against Arpaio, a civil liberties attorney and many political opponents in county and state office.

Judge Gary Donahoe is scheduled to rule on the defense documents case on Thursday.

email J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com