Heat City

"There is a line here I have to balance", said the cowering, frightened Judge Donahoe as he stared at 50 sheriffs wearing guns in his courtroom. Let's just GUESS what side of the line the frightened Judge will decide wins.

People, where is you sense of outrage? How do you know these keystone cops, who have absolutely NO hesitation to BREAK THE LAW IN OPEN COURT IN FRONT OF A JUDGE on camera, haven’t stolen other papers from other defense attorney files, or other papers from Luzano’s attorney, or that they even returned ALL OF THE PAPERS THEY were CAUGHT taking? They said they returned the papers (while keeping copies), but we can’t KNOW that, can we, because instead of handing the papers to the attorney, or to the judge, Stoddard threw them back on the open file, and claimed he returned them all.

Stoddard says the Sheriff’s office didn’t read the papers (BUT WE SAW HIM READ THE PAPERS, didn't we, and He's a Sheriff, so we KNOW he’s a LIAR) Stoddard says the Sheriffs office didn’t keep copies of the papers (But we SAW Campillo keep papers when he returned from his photocopy run, and we CAN’T know, can we, that even if the papers Campillo brought into the courtroom were handed over to some impartial party, we can’t know whether Campillo made 2 copies and not just one, and secreted a second set of copies somewhere outside the courtroom, for later retrieval and use by the Sheriff’s department, can we?)

Now, we saw Stoddard lie to the judge in open court, we saw Stoddard illegally search an attorney’s files, so why on earth should we believe a WORD this dishonest little crook says? Because he has a BADGE????? Because he claims he returned all the papers? Because he claims he was suspicious of some security problem? Because he CLAIMS he has never done this before?

Answer this, if Stoddard WASN’T caught in the act, what would have happened? He’d have snuck the papers back into the file, and then that would be OK, wouldn’t it? Well, it would be OK to Judge Donahue in Maricopa County Arizona, that’s for sure. That seems to be Standard Operating Procedure in Maricopa County.

But NO! That would NOT be OK. It’s far deeper than just whether the papers were returned. It goes right to the heart of every citizen's rights under the Bill of Rights of both the United States and of Arizona.

Stoddard thinks that its all OK because he returned the papers??? Are you kidding me? And at the hearing, the JUDGE must have thought this was OK too, and instead of getting Stoddard up on the stand and grilling him, asking Stoddard to explain, RIGHT THERE ON THE WITNESS STAND, what the Frickin’ Emergency was that he didn’t ask the JUDGE, who was 15 feet away for chrissakes, FOR A WARRANT, and instead illegally searched an defense attorney's FILE, for chrissakes.. Instead of the Judge reading Stoddard the riot act and chastising him for his utter disrespect of the rule of law, and demanding he turn in his badge and that he NEVER show his face in her courtroom again in a uniform and not in prison stripes, NO! NO! NO! Instead the Judge just sort of waves it off, covers for them by saying “the officers have a lot of leeway when it comes to security”… and lets both Stoddard and Campillo free to go have the prosecutor’s office prepare their defense…

My god. What is happening here? My god...

I ask you, fellow citizens, what would this judge say to a bankrobber who got caught before he could spend the money? No harm no foul? It’s OK, Mr. Bankrobber, we caught you in the act, and because you were forced to return the property, you can go free? Why? Because here in our courtroom, Mr. Bankrobber, if we catch our deputy sheriffs stealing people’s property, its ALL OK as long as they give the property back. So, Mr. Bankrobber, you get to live by the same rules. It’s all OK because we caught you in the act and you had to give the property back too.” Hey AND YOU BOTH USED GUNS AT THE TIME, AND THAT’S OK TOO!

Or, and even more on-point comparison, what if the judge saw somebody steal a purse in court, and the purse-snatcher was apprehended right there in court, and the property returned? Would the judge set the Purse-snatcher or the Bankrobber free, like Stoddard and Campillo?

Well, you know the answer already. The above scenario will never happen, IF YOU ARE A PURSE SNATCHER OR A BANK ROBBER. NOOOOO! They both would get a felony conviction!

But the above scenario WILL HAPPEN, mark my words, if you are a Maricopa County Sheriff. At minimum, Stoddard and Campillo committed a felony misdemeanor of burglary, theft of property. That’s a crime. Committed in a courtroom. In front of the judge. In front of THREE PROSECUTORS! But the prosecutors didn't even blink, the judge didn't care, the judge didn't have these two perps taken to jail, no, Stoddard and Campillo walked out, scot free, and have been held to be immune for their crimes.

How can stealing in open court NOT be contempt? Justified by “Keywords”? “Keywords” don’t matter. “Keywords” are irrelevant! Stoddard’s justification is complete and utter smokescreen.

Think about it.

For anybody who claims that Stoddard did the right thing, or that he was “justified” or had “authority” or had no other choice – don’t even TRY to go there. Stoddard claims he had some kind of suspicion there was some note, before Stoddard even moved a MUSCLE to sneak up behind Lozano’s attorney, Joanne Cuccia, and to search her files.

If what Stoddard says is true, hell, EVEN IF HE COULD SEE THE FOUR WORDS KEYWORDS: “WE’LL BOMB THIS COURTHOUSE” from all the way across the room, what should Stoddard have done, other than acting like Encyclopedia Brown sneaking up and and illegally searching a defense attorney’s file behind her back? Answer: there is an already established courtroom procedure he could have used, and he acted in CONTEMPT OF IT. He could talk to any one of the three prosecutors, or he could have talked to the judge’s assistant or bailiff, and asked him or her to pass a note to the judge, telling the judge of his suspicions, and asking to the judge to not let the defendant or Ms. Cuccia leave after the hearing, so the judge could discuss the situation with her. His very limit of procedural correctness, were he so sure of a danger, might have allowed him to drawn his gun and yell to the court if he was so concerned! “LOOK OUT EVERYONE, THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY HAS A NOTE!” (see how ridiculous his BS claim of “concern for security” is?) And when the dust settled, the Judge would handle it. But in reality, there was absolutely no “Imminent Threat” that couldn’t wait till the end of trial, that “justified” Stoddard’s sneaky search and seizure. NOTHING!

And had he done what I suggested above, getting the attention of the court, and letting the court handle it? VIOLA! That’s not violating the procedures of the court, that's not contempt of court, that’s not violating the defendant’s due process protections under the constitution, that’s not violating the attorney’s rights of privacy or due process either. Stoddard might have gotten a “stern talking to” for drawing his pistol, had it gone that far, but if he really believed the danger, even I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

But did Stoddard follow established procedure? NO! Stoddard decided to take the law in his own hands, and contemptuously broke the law in open court, and contemptuously violated established court procedure. What’s the remedy for that in Maricopa County, which prides itself for ZERO TOLERANCE and prides itself for feeding something “worse then dog food” to its inmates? Here’s the remedy: Stoddard must go to jail for contempt, and he should be sent to the same stinkhole 120 degree tent city that all other accused criminals go. Same thing for his side kick, Officer “Stan Laurel” Campillo. Let them sweat it out in rags and dine on $1.00 a day. And then FIRE them. Maricopa County is so good at making examples, then make an example out of these two jokers.

Unless, of course, there is ONE form of justice for “Mexicans (or blacks, Asians, Indians or other “people of color)” and one different form of justice for “whites” in Maricopa County. Or is it one form of justice for “Sheriffs” (i.e. no laws apply to them whatsoever) and a different form of justice for EVERYBODY else?

Finally, and I can’t say this strongly enough, the “show of force” of armed, uniformed sheriff deputies, filling the entire side of the spectator gallery for the contempt hearing harkens back to 1933 Germany and the Brownshirts, and it was obviously orchestrated by the county’s Nazi-in-chief, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. If Judge Donahoe doesn’t view this as some kind of fascist, unabashed harassment and intimidation of a judicial officer, then Judge Donahoe must be “in bed” with all of these “gentlemen” (which is what Judge Donahoe called these two pilferers). Gentlemen, my @ss … Like Vito Corleone is a gentleman…

Mark my words, you will see, these jokers will be held up as heroes by the right wing … the constitution is DEAD in Maricopa County.

Hopefully the defense attorneys will not accept this obviously flawed proceeding as the final word. There has to be more that can be done and higher courts to appeal to. I'm almost positive that had this happened to the prosecution's file, there would have been dire repercussions.

Arizona is a police state, and its citizens accept this because the abuse happens to someone else (especially those with brown skin), and they think it can't and won't happen to them. We all would be wiser to remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller:

"First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me."

We're closer than we think we are.

Thanks for covering this story.

Wow.