Judge Gary Donahoe has issued his opinion in the Adam Stoddard contempt hearing. To everyone’s shock, Judge Donahoe held the court detention officer in contempt. Heat City sums it up:
But Donahoe rejected that story, saying there’s no way “a reasonable detention officer” would have thought a crime was taking place based on what he saw.
“There was no immediate or future security threat that would have justified a reasonable detention officer in DO Stoddard’s situation removing, seizing and coping a document from a defense attorney’s file,” Donahoe wrote in his ruling, which was made public today. “A reasonable detention officer would have recognized after spending approximately 37 seconds reading the paragraph in question, that the ‘key words’ had nothing to do with an immediate or future security threat to the jail or anyone else.”
Even more curious is the court’s “punishment”, with the judge ordering Stoddard to make a written and oral apology, the latter to be done at a press conference, with defense attorney Joanne Cuccia left to decide if the apology is sufficiently sincere. If not, Stoddard goes to jail, per the order.
Taking the ruling on contempt first, it’s likely shocking to all involved that Judge Donahoe took what amounts to a huge local political risk by angering the local power. Of course, it may well be that there was no sweeping this one under the carpet, due to the attention it’s received nationwide, and that contempt was the only available option. Note to Maricopa defense lawyers: Maybe this isn’t just blathering?
On the other hand, the punishment is somewhat goofy. Aside from the public shaming aspect, Judge Donahoe’s shifting the burden of determining Stoddard’s sincerity to Cuccia is a trick, pure and simple. If she was to decide that it was an inadequate or insincere apology, then Donahoe’s in the clear and whatever fallout occurs is Cuccia’s fault. Cuccia certainly doesn’t want every deputy in the county to hate her, so she isn’t going to paint a target on her forehead. Everybody down there has to know this. It was a pretty shifty move on the judge’s part.
So is this half a loaf? Maybe a little more than half? I think so, and it’s significant that the attention of others focused on the wild west of Maricopa County might have contributed to Judge Donahoe’s decision making process. Clearly, given the penalty, however, there’s still a way to go.
Update: Via Gameso, the N.html”>Arizona Republic has Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s reaction to Judge Donahoe’s decision:
Taking the ruling on contempt first, it’s likely shocking to all involved that Judge Donahoe took what amounts to a huge local political risk by angering the local power. Of course, it may well be that there was no sweeping this one under the carpet, due to the attention it’s received nationwide, and that contempt was the only available option. Note to Maricopa defense lawyers: Maybe this isn’t just blathering?
On the other hand, the punishment is somewhat goofy. Aside from the public shaming aspect, Judge Donahoe’s shifting the burden of determining Stoddard’s sincerity to Cuccia is a trick, pure and simple. If she was to decide that it was an inadequate or insincere apology, then Donahoe’s in the clear and whatever fallout occurs is Cuccia’s fault. Cuccia certainly doesn’t want every deputy in the county to hate her, so she isn’t going to paint a target on her forehead. Everybody down there has to know this. It was a pretty shifty move on the judge’s part.
So is this half a loaf? Maybe a little more than half? I think so, and it’s significant that the attention of others focused on the wild west of Maricopa County might have contributed to Judge Donahoe’s decision making process. Clearly, given the penalty, however, there’s still a way to go.
Update: Via Gameso, the N.html”>Arizona Republic has Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s reaction to Judge Donahoe’s decision:
“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,” Arpaio said in a press release. He further said, “I decide who holds press conferences and when they are held regarding this Sheriff’s Office.”I get the sense that Sheriff Joe is not respecting Judge Donahoe’s authority. I wonder what will happen should Stoddard be forbidden by Sheriff Joe from apologizing. I wonder if they will call each other names. Or worse. This could get awfully nasty.
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It’s amusing, though, that a criminal defense lawyer gets to decide whether or not an arrogant cop goes to jail. Tell me that doesn’t excite you just a little.
If it was New York City, you bet. But down there, given the dynamic, it’s a trick. Either way, it’s the judge’s responsibility to mete out the penalty. If Stoddard’s apology isn’t adequate or sincere, why should Cuccia be made the goat for saying so?
Oh, I agree completely. It’s just…wow, what a concept. The sentence depends on his sincerity, as judged by the defense lawyer. It’s like an Alice-In-Wonderland twist on a victim impact statement.
Sir, In a previous Post, you brought to our attention that the D.O. (Thief) had a sea of supporters (Brothers) in court. And today, we learn that only one person is held in contempt, despite there being two D.O’s. conspiring to comitt theft in Open Court.
Do you and/or any of your attorney / lawyers (brothers)find it odd that Ms. Cuccia hasn’t witnessed the same support? I can’t help but to think that had it happened to Johnny Cocoran, lawyers & African Americans would stage a demonstration beyond belief. Then of course Obama & O. Winfrey would pitch in.
With it happening to a Woman, in 2009, you’d think that she’d get some kind of support or is it due to the element she was defending and her whitish appearance? Thanks.
As I understand it, there was a good showing from the criminal defense bar on the other side of the courtroom from the sea of badges, so I believe Cuccia did have support behind her before Judge Donahoe. The difference, of course, is that if Donahoe pissed off the defense lawyers, there isn’t much they could do to make his life miserable. The same cannot be said for the deputies.
Judge Donahoe has failed to… judge. As a non-lawyer, I am stunned that Donahoe would place the onus of possibly jailing a man on the shoulders of a criminal defense attorney. I’m not even sure if doing so is legal. Others can opine on that. What I do know is Stoddard’s employer, Sheriff Arpaio has already issued a statement that Stoddard within the scope of his employment, and that no disciplinary action would be taken. If Stoddard apologizes, he puts himself in a jackpot with Sheriff Mussalini (Arpaio’s actual middle name, according to Arizona District Court filings), who has publicly had his back.
Today’s namby-pamby ruling does nothing to re-delineate the roles of government in Maricopa.
Donahoe did, finally, wimp out. The problem is that this was treated as civil contempt which can be purged by a warm and fuzzy apology. At least under the law in some jurisdictions, it would have been direct criminal contempt for which punishment could be imposed. A fine won’t do it, but actually lock Stoddard up for a bit and just maybe it would make a real statement.
Sir, I see your point, a catch-22 with a dab of roulett with a loaded clip. One would think the lawyers could gang up to have the female judge & Donahoe removed for being chicken-shit as best.
Any thoughts on why Stoddard’s assistant wasn’t held in contempt (theft) also? Thanks.
The deputy will get a lot of pats on the back. He did nothing wrong. Rather, there was just too much attention given to his conduct. “You were just a scapegoat, man.” It will be back to business as usual.
Way to change the culture, judge.
It’s in the decision. The other dep just did some copying for Stoddard, nothing more.
True. Stoddard will be folk hero with the brethren. It will be interesting to see his apology. I hope we get a vid of it. Wanna bet there’s a hundred deputies standing behind him?
So maybe we’ll get to direct contempt, after all. Or maybe that can be purged, too.
On the other hand, the punishment is somewhat goofy.
Not goofy. Cowardly.
Defense counsel should refuse to participate.
Punishment is the judge’s realm.
This just in. Cuccia, disgusted with the judge’s cowardly ruling punting the decision as to jail time for the DO, refused to render any decision as to the DO. The judge then found Cuccia in contempt of court, ruling that she will hold a press conference of her own to apologize for her infraction. The DO will decide whether Cuccia will be jailed or fined, depending on her sincerity. Both forced apologies will be made at one press conference, resulting in a true Mexican Standoff. Get your popcorn kids.
Now, that gets interesting. The judge has issued an order. If there’s no apology at all — and the judge was pretty specific about the terms of it — does he really have any choice other than ordering a warrant for Stoddard? And who serves it?
It looks to me like Donahoe tried to get off the hook, but Arpaio has put him right back on.
Joe Arpaio “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,”
How does Arpaio know that the courts are feeling pressure from the media?
Arpaio, by proxy, is now defying the court at the D.O.s expense. And Arpaio is just flatly going against the law now by defying the court order in a black & white statement. This is very serious business, unfortunately it is not taken very seriously by Arpaio.
A culture of legal defiance is being propagated by the Sheriff of Maricopa in what is a clear violation of judicial process.
What it comes down to is client attorney privilege nothing more nothing less.
That law was clearly broken and now the smoke screens and diversions have begun by the notorious sheriff.
My, this could get really interesting after all.
The worst part about your comment is that it could actually be true.
And I would like to think we contributed to the sunlight.
Nick Martin definitely deserves kudos.
Yes, he does indeed. He’s done superb work.
Sheriff Joe showing defiance with respect to judges and judges threatening to hold him or members of his department in contempt of court is nothing new.
In the past few months, I think I’ve read three cases where different judges have threatened him or his department with contempt of court.
Maybe because Donahoe recently held the deputy chief in contempt of court over another matter at the beginning of October, he hoped to avoid another conflict so soon after? But I agree that he wimped out on the penalty.
I bet my Judge can shoot your Sheriff! Betcha $100.
Remember that old saw about the Navy captain who allows his crew to vote on their shore leave destination, and loses his command because he allowed his crew to vote on anything?
I think our system of justice is inherently designed, at least in part, mind you, to insulate the aggrieved party from the dishing-out-the-punishment decision.
And not only that, but I fully agree with the assessment that this was a weasely thing for the judge to do, but it’s also a pretty chilling statement about the state of affairs down there in Maricopa. A sitting judge is afraid to give a reasonable sentence, probably because he fears gang-related backlash. (Only the gang in question wears badges.)
I have become more and more convinced in recent years that one of the big problems in the system is the (usually) subtle contempt with which criminal defense lawyers are held. In particular, I would say it’s quite dangerous to the proper functioning of the court system that police, as a group, are far more influential in the system than defense attorneys.
From that perspective, I think the Judge’s determination is sort of revealing. The contempt for defense attorneys in this case was not subtle but open, and when it came down to it the judge responded by explicitly subordinating the cop involved to a defense attorney. I think in the judge’s mind he was putting the cop in his place, and giving the defense attorney authority over him.
Most cops and judges think in terms of power, not right and wrong. From that perspective, the judge was siding hard with the defense lawyer and against the cop. There’s an argument to be made that the decision was therefore quite courageous, and a vindication for the principle that attorneys outrank cops in the courtroom.
Some proof of this can be found in the Sheriff’s defiant stance. He’s clearly rankled by the ruling. He understands that it’s humiliating for one of his deputies to be subordinated to a defense attorney’s decision.
And that’s arguably the nub of the problem: the sheriff and his deputies should be deferential to defense counsel if everyone is thinking properly, that should be the normal state of affairs. When the reverse is true, as it apparently has been in Marikafka County, you’re going to have a very dysfunctional court system.
So I think the judge did the right thing. You can tell by how much he pissed off the Sheriff.
Sir, is it possible that this type of “Decision” making is the almighty elusive answer to the jail & prison-overcrowding dilemma?
Should it go viral and catch on, would publicly apologizing and paying for any damages done satisfy certain levels of crime victims? Or since a krap load of people get paid as it sits now, do you think the idea will be heavily lobbied against? We all know “Status Quo makes the money flow” Thanks.
The result here was swift and exact. That may be because of all the national attention, or it may be because Maricopa is pushing for justice. I don’t know. I do know that, even though the punishment puts the defense attorney in a “pickle”, it shifts the POWER away from the deputy into the hands of someone other than a judge, something the deputy & his buddies are probably not very used to feeling.
I’ll keep it short. Yea for Judge Donahoe shoving us closer towards justice!!!
Oh my, the day has come and gone for the public apology. Nothing has occurred.
What will happen tomorrow. I am riveted by anticipation at the thought of tomorrows outcome.
Something has occurred. Stoddard issued this statement:
“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.”
Oh my, that can’t be good. This will now be even more fascinating.