Heat City

Adam Stoddard

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has apparently stopped delivering inmates to the courtroom where a one of its detention officers was caught in an uproar that landed him in jail.

In a statement released late today, Superior Court Judge Lisa Flores said the sheriff’s office has flat-out stopped bringing inmates to her courtroom for their scheduled appearances.

None was delivered Monday or today, Flores said in the statement, causing major delays in ongoing criminal cases. That follows several days last week when the sheriff’s office either delivered inmates more than an hour late or not at all, she said.

The stonewalling comes after sheriff’s detention officer Adam Stoddard was thrown in jail for contempt in an incident where he was caught taking confidential documents from the file of a defense attorney in Flores’ court.

Another judge, Gary Donahoe, ordered Stoddard to apologize for the incident or go to jail. Last week, Stoddard chose the latter. He surrendered to his own agency on Dec. 1 and is being kept in an undisclosed location.

Since his jailing, Maricopa County’s justice system – one of the largest in the nation – has been thrown into a state of chaos, plagued by protests and a likely sickout by Stoddard’s coworkers, as well as bomb threats from a still-unknown source.

Stoddard’s boss, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, has described the detention officer as a “political prisoner” in his own jail. Arpaio’s supporters call Stoddard a victim of the ongoing disputes between the sheriff and other county leaders, including some judges.

The sheriff’s office did not respond to a message seeking comment tonight, but Deputy Chief Dave Trombi told the Phoenix New Times on Monday the agency is short-staffed and having a hard time getting inmates to other courtrooms, too.

“There’s nothing personal going on with Judge Flores – nothing whatsoever,” Trombi told reporter Ray Stern.

Regardless, Flores said she is handing off at least one case to another judge to make sure justice is served on time.

Flores wants someone else to take the case of Antonio Lozano, the man who was being sentenced when Stoddard reached into the attorney’s files. The document Stoddard pulled out was a privileged letter between Lozano and his attorney, Joanne Cuccia.

When the incident took place Oct. 19, Flores called off the sentencing and rescheduled it. Then when the controversy with Stoddard had not been resolved, she was forced to delay it again. Now, with Lozano set for a do-over on Monday, Flores said it would be a good idea for another judge to handle it.

“Not because of any bias or conflict,” Flores wrote in her statement, “but only for the purpose of assuring that the defendant is sentenced as scheduled.”