The executive branch of government controls law enforcement. The legislative branch funds law enforcement. The judicial branch depends upon the kindness of strangers, and it doesn’t get any stranger than this.
Judge Gary Donahoe took a wild chance when he ruled in the case of Adam Stoddard, court detention officer in Maricopa County who was caught rifling through defense lawyer Joanne Cuccia’s file on video that Stoddard, who works under Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Donahoe held Stoddard in contempt and ordered him to make a “sincere apology” or go to jail.
Initially, Donahoe shifted the burden of making the call on the apology to Cuccia, but he quickly realized the error of his ways and amended his decision, shifting the burden back onto his own shoulders. With the November 30 deadline looming, Deputy County Attorney Tom Liddy sought to delay the inevitable, but Donahoe refused his request.
At about 8:30 p.m. local time, Adam Stoddard took to the courthouse plaza for a press conference. He issued this statement:
This is a constitutional crisis, and one long past due. It’s unlikely that Judge Gary Donahoe decided that this case, this decision, this moment in time was when he would pit the integrity of the judicial branch of government against the firepower of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, but that’s exactly what he’s done. It’s might versus right.
Sheriff Joe has run Maricopa County as a fiefdom. It’s no secret, and he’s not without the support of the serfs for his bizarre personal view of what the guys with guns should do. Arpaio is the Lord of the Flies. It’s not that he hasn’t had his run-ins with the courts before, but the results have always been to buy his way out of trouble on the taxpayers’ dime. And enough of the taxpayers have been willing to pay for Arpaio’s trespasses to keep him in business.
He can’t buy his way out of this one. There’s no cash alternative.
Stoddard’s carefully crafted statement, while brazen, is not entirely wrong. If he doesn’t regret his conduct, then he would be incapable of a sincere apology. The notion of ordering someone to be sincere is itself dubious, given that people will believe whatever they believe. They can’t be ordered to believe otherwise.
But that shouldn’t give rise to a misunderstanding of Donahoe’s order. He didn’t order Stoddard to be sincere. He offered Stoddard an opportunity to purge himself of the contempt. The punishment is jail, and the apology was the key to the cell door. It was entirely Stoddard’s choice, or Arpaio’s according to how you prefer to look at it, whether he sought to avail himself of the opportunity. The choice has been made.
On the other hand, it’s not up to Stoddard whether his conduct was proper. It’s not up to Arpaio either, assuming one accepts the premise that there is a higher authority in Maricopa County than Sheriff Joe. Judge Gary Donahoe has drawn a line, not in sand but concrete. It’s been crossed. Now what?
It’s time to execute judgment. Who will take Adam Stoddard into custody? Judge Donahoe has no army, no gang of men with guns to do his bidding. He commands only words, and relies on the force brought to bear by Sheriff Joe to give meaning to his words. While the sheriff might be happy to comply when he agrees with the court, he’s not the sort of guy who is inclined to take directions with which he disagrees. If he doesn’t do his job at the command of the judge, and no reasonable person suspects he will, then who will seize Adam Stoddard and take him into custody?
If no one, then the system is revealed to be at the mercy of the Lord of the Flies. Is there a judicial branch of government in Maricopa County, or does Sheriff Joe own the place? Today should tell.
Judge Gary Donahoe took a wild chance when he ruled in the case of Adam Stoddard, court detention officer in Maricopa County who was caught rifling through defense lawyer Joanne Cuccia’s file on video that Stoddard, who works under Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Donahoe held Stoddard in contempt and ordered him to make a “sincere apology” or go to jail.
Initially, Donahoe shifted the burden of making the call on the apology to Cuccia, but he quickly realized the error of his ways and amended his decision, shifting the burden back onto his own shoulders. With the November 30 deadline looming, Deputy County Attorney Tom Liddy sought to delay the inevitable, but Donahoe refused his request.
At about 8:30 p.m. local time, Adam Stoddard took to the courthouse plaza for a press conference. He issued this statement:
Was there any doubt that it would come to this?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.
This is a constitutional crisis, and one long past due. It’s unlikely that Judge Gary Donahoe decided that this case, this decision, this moment in time was when he would pit the integrity of the judicial branch of government against the firepower of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, but that’s exactly what he’s done. It’s might versus right.
Sheriff Joe has run Maricopa County as a fiefdom. It’s no secret, and he’s not without the support of the serfs for his bizarre personal view of what the guys with guns should do. Arpaio is the Lord of the Flies. It’s not that he hasn’t had his run-ins with the courts before, but the results have always been to buy his way out of trouble on the taxpayers’ dime. And enough of the taxpayers have been willing to pay for Arpaio’s trespasses to keep him in business.
He can’t buy his way out of this one. There’s no cash alternative.
Stoddard’s carefully crafted statement, while brazen, is not entirely wrong. If he doesn’t regret his conduct, then he would be incapable of a sincere apology. The notion of ordering someone to be sincere is itself dubious, given that people will believe whatever they believe. They can’t be ordered to believe otherwise.
But that shouldn’t give rise to a misunderstanding of Donahoe’s order. He didn’t order Stoddard to be sincere. He offered Stoddard an opportunity to purge himself of the contempt. The punishment is jail, and the apology was the key to the cell door. It was entirely Stoddard’s choice, or Arpaio’s according to how you prefer to look at it, whether he sought to avail himself of the opportunity. The choice has been made.
On the other hand, it’s not up to Stoddard whether his conduct was proper. It’s not up to Arpaio either, assuming one accepts the premise that there is a higher authority in Maricopa County than Sheriff Joe. Judge Gary Donahoe has drawn a line, not in sand but concrete. It’s been crossed. Now what?
It’s time to execute judgment. Who will take Adam Stoddard into custody? Judge Donahoe has no army, no gang of men with guns to do his bidding. He commands only words, and relies on the force brought to bear by Sheriff Joe to give meaning to his words. While the sheriff might be happy to comply when he agrees with the court, he’s not the sort of guy who is inclined to take directions with which he disagrees. If he doesn’t do his job at the command of the judge, and no reasonable person suspects he will, then who will seize Adam Stoddard and take him into custody?
If no one, then the system is revealed to be at the mercy of the Lord of the Flies. Is there a judicial branch of government in Maricopa County, or does Sheriff Joe own the place? Today should tell.
Maricopa County Superior Court spokeswoman Karen Arra said Adam Stoddard must report to the 4th Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix or face arrest after he was ordered to apologize to a Phoenix attorney Monday night.
It whizzed across the bow. Upon information and belief, Stoddard was eating a warm, nutricious breakfast of Cap’n Crunch and grits and watching Sponge Bob Square Pants, so he missed the morning news. Stay tuned.
Update 2: According to the Phoenix New Times, Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced that Adam Stoddard will surrender to jail today.
Update 2: According to the Phoenix New Times, Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced that Adam Stoddard will surrender to jail today.
“My officer will surrender,” Arpaio said during a news conference, adding that he wouldn’t say exactly where officer Adam Stoddard will be, because of security concerns.
However, Arpaio also contends that this situation arose because of Judge Donahoe’s feelings toward him:
Arpaio claims Donahoe has a “vendetta” against him and will soon release information about the judge that proves it. “For political reasons, [Stoddard’s] been thrown to the wolves,” Arpaio said.
Arpaio has a long history of blaming problems caused by his over-reaching on political enemies, and usually follows up by alleging criminal conduct on his enemies part. Apparently, even Sheriff Joe wasn’t prepared to test his power head to head with the court system, preferring instead to use more time-tested methods.
Update 3: This just in from Nick Martin, Adam Stoddard reported to jail, but the Sheriffs Deputies refused to book him, claiming a clerical error. Word is that he will try again tomorrow. Maybe.
Update 4: Again, per Nick Martin, despite being told to go home, Stoddard chose to spend the night at the jail anyway, even though he’s not booked in as a prisoner. No word on whether he got the presidential suite.
Update 3: This just in from Nick Martin, Adam Stoddard reported to jail, but the Sheriffs Deputies refused to book him, claiming a clerical error. Word is that he will try again tomorrow. Maybe.
Update 4: Again, per Nick Martin, despite being told to go home, Stoddard chose to spend the night at the jail anyway, even though he’s not booked in as a prisoner. No word on whether he got the presidential suite.
From this remove — where the sheriff’s and his office’s contempt for other authority is a given — what’s fascinating is that there seems to be at least some grounds to believe that the judge’s decision as to the kind of contempt Stoddard committed was faulty, and grounds for appeal to a higher court. But they didn’t do that; they just said, more or less politely, that the judge and the rule of law could go to hell.
What happens the next time Stoddard shows up in court to watch over somebody in custody? Does the judge order other DOs to seize him? And what happens if/when they don’t?
Of course, this sort of potential constitutional crisis (and it’s still only potential for at least a couple more hours) has happened before – on the national stage.
When the Court refused Georgia’s attempt to seize Cherokee lands (Wooster v. Georgia), a defiant President Jackson is said (although it’s probably apocryphal) to have responded, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it.” Regardless of whether he said it, Jackson sent in troops to remove the Cherokee demonstrating that he meant it and that the Court’s decisions weren’t self-executing. And, of course, after Brown, the schools in Little Rock, Arkansas got integrated only because Ike sent in troops to enforce the Court’s orders.
Damn, I’m looking forward to seeing what this afternoon brings.
Part of his job is to inspect documents brought into the courtroom? Hasn’t anyone down there heard of attorney work product or attorney-client communication? I’m guessing he doesn’t go rifling through the prosecutor’s files.
My guess is that Joe told him not to apologize and not to worry about the “consequences.”
So who signs the checks for the officers? Since the judge has no army, he can take a shot at a contempt citation that withholds pay.
Ultimately it seems that it has to go to the legislature that will have to decide if the officers are above the law or not.
I dunno. From this amateur perspective, I thought it was a settled issue that folks have to either a: obey a judge’s order, b: appeal it to a higher court in a timely way, or c: suffer the consequences. Looks to me like this is d: none of the above, at least for now.
On further reflection, I’ve decided that there is a legal remedy other than appeal, and it may be a better remedy: a writ of habeas corpus. In setup, though, the deputy has to be restrained in his liberty; I don’t think the original order restrained him, but if the judge orders him to jail then habeas will lie. Or Arpaio could pretend the courts don’t exist.
Sure. But that requires both the judge to order him to jail and for somebody — Stoddard himself? — to put him there. What seems from this remove to be bizarre is an apparent possibility of the judge saying “this guy goes to jail” — which he kinda sorta has, in his order — and Arpaio’s office saying, “No.” I didn’t think that they got to do that.
What does the judge do then? Whip out a set of handcuffs himself?
This is something I’ve been wondering about this case from the beginning. The deputy sheriffs certainly don’t do anything like that here in the counties where I practice. What security threat could a document present?
Never for a moment did I doubt that you would come to appreciate the problem. It was best that you got there on your own.
Oh, as a hypothetical, that’s easy: “at 11:37, Bob, throw yourself to the floor so that the guy who smuggled in a gun can get a clear shot at” whoever.
Or: “fold along the indicated lines here to make an origami knife. Paper cuts can be very dangerous.”
I’m greatful that you acknowledge my slow, but keen, eye for the obvious.
I prefer to think of it as methodical rather than slow.
Okay, okay, I take it back: you’re not prickly.
Meanwhile, apparently a bench warrant reportedly may be shortly issued for Stoddard. Somehow or other, my guess is that he won’t be described as “armed and dangerous” in the APB.
I gather that you didn’t notice that I’ve updated the post, using that very same link in fact. But it carries much more weight if the link appears a second time in the comments.
You gather correctly. Or, as we say in my trade: “oops.”
No “oops” at all. Redundant safeguards assures all of us that nothing eludes detection.
I was thinking AZ National Guard rather than legis.
He has shown up in court. Judge Flores’s court. This is the very court where he did his crime/contempt. And, according to witnesses is standing around with a grin on his face.
Please keep it coming.
Surely Judge Flores can’t just let him work security in her courtroom knowing that another judge has issued a bench warrant for him. She has to try to effect his arrest on that warrant somehow. Right? But then again, she let this same officer rifle through a defense file right in front of her. This whole county is just surreal.
I’m awaiting word from the courtroom. Something should have happened already, but no word yet. I hope the video cameras are working.
Somewhere between Kafka and the Red Queen.
God only knows what happens next. Channel 15, Phoenix, reports that Stoddard has an appeal going, but I haven’t been able to track anything about it down.
Whether Donahoe’s order is self executing, as suggested by the court spokesperson earlier, or requires a warrant to effectuate it, is a local technical issue. That he’s busy protecting Judge Lisa Flores from paper cuts is another matter.
An origami knife – that was really good.
With the surrender, absent the judge doing some other paper thingee, I guess we can figure that the Mr. Liddy’s statement that he couldn’t is, err, no longer operative.
I’m not sure what Arpaio’s point is in the secrecy about Stoddard’s whereabouts, though. While, honest, I don’t think it would be appropriate for him to be harmed by other inmates while in jail, one would think that there’d be some established protocol for the detention of people who others might want to go all stabbity on, that wouldn’t depend on “security by obscurity”. Even in Maricopa County.
I live but to serve. Or amuse. Or something.
Why do the Cheney “secret location” thing? It adds mystery, and keeps the reporters away from Stoddard who might still be a bit raw about Arpaio backing off his promise that he would never see jail. He’ll be fine once he calms down, but at the moment might have a thing or two to say that he will regret tomorrow.
It would seem to me that Donahoe is in dire need of a braincell or two. If what stoddard did was in fact a violation of law, send his tail to jail! If he is not sorry, why should he apologize? if he apologizes, what difference does that make, it does not make it right? and he will probably be lying (another crime if he is under oath).
What kind of idiot would make such a ruling? Oh, I know. One who cannot … seem to pull his head out and make a decision. As for the deputy, you get what you pay for. Look at the laws and if they were broken, sentence him with prejudice since he is supposed to uphold the law. As for the Judge, too bad there is no law against stupidity.
The legal hacks here seem to agree that Judge Donahoe’s decision has some problems and cis open to appeal. it has even been mentioned that the judge took arisk with his ruling.
Is it possible that the judge, knowing the law enforcement/political dynamics all too well, aimed for the case to be taken to a venue more removed from Arpaio’s turf and power? Which Arizona Court of Appeals division would get the case? If it’s division 1, that would still be in Maricopa, nothing gained. Unless the Sheriff’s office isn’t as entrenched there, I couldn’t find out.
The legal hacks?
I think it’s a term of affection, à la Rumpole.
Yeah. That’s what it must be. Sure.
Of everything I’ve seen thus far, Stoddard trying to surrender was the most surprising. I made the press conference last night, and the sense of defiance I got from him was amazing. Maybe he’s surrendering to be housed at the Biltmore, Phoenician, or Four Seasons. With overtime pay, of course. Then it would all make sense.
About the only thing I think is safe to say about this is that that didn’t happen, if only because it would make sense. Sounds to me like Stoddard, for whatever reason, really did stay in the jail, and can honestly say that, in obedience to the judge’s order, he did report to the jail, leaving no ambiguity about it.
The ball is still apparently in Donahue’s, err, court. If I understand it correctly, he was supposed to write, “And I really, really mean it” on the detention order to satisfy Sheriff Joe’s new need for fastidiousness. Or something.
Hmm, did I really offend?
Mark Bennett is right, a lot of reading Rumpole.
Many years later it still shows: English as a second language.
Now, what about my question, any merit to that?
Maybe. My theory was that the judge wrote a nonsensical order so that the court of appeals would reverse him out of the limelight. Joe Arpaio didn’t seem to get the memo on that, though.
This is true. Stoddard gets to avoid a second (real) indirect civil contempt charge because he did what he was ordered to do.
Now is Joe Arpaio in indirect civil contempt for not incarcerating Stoddard?
Nah. He’s demonstrating his commitment to the rule of law by insisting that he won’t lock up people without proper legal niceties. And he’s demonstrating that Donahoe (against whom [among others] he’s just filed a civil RICO complaint) doesn’t believe in those niceties and has no respect for the rule of law.
Alternately: maybe he did get the memo, and wanted to keep Donahoe — not a political lackey of his, at least in this — on the spot. Donahoe committed lese Arpaio by not throwing the matter out, after all, and there’s almost every reason to believe that Donahoe would just like this all over and done with.
All of the above 🙂
And today, chaos reigns in Maricopa County as 19 or 20 detention officers scheduled to work at the courthouse just happen to all be sick today and a bomb threat was called in, which may or may not have mentioned targeting the public defenders office.
According to a representative of the Maricopa County Association of Detention Officers, the sick-out is not a coordinated response. Details at a press conference this afternoon.
Mr. G., Is this non-coordinated response considered a strike or a dereliction of duty issue? Can it be dealt with by cleaning house & hiring people that want to work? Something tells me that a union or association is in the mix pulling strings. Thanks.
I came to this website via links about this story from other sites. You have linked Judge Donahoe’s Amended Order in which he took back from Ms. Cuccia “the keys to the jail house.” That he gave her that power was remarkable to me. On several legal blogs, I asked for opinions about it, but never got a response (not even a statement that the Judge had amended the Order). Seeing the Amended Order clears things up.
I try. I found out about it from Nick Martin’s Heat City, which is a terrific resource for this case.