Heat City

A pair of bomb threats shut down part of Maricopa County’s main courthouse this morning, about five weeks after a string of similar threats disrupted the local justice system over several days.

Two separate threats were made to one of the court’s main towers, known as the East Court Building, sometime after it opened this morning, according to the court’s highest ranking judge, Barbara Rodriguez Mundell.

A federal grand jury is examining possible criminal charges against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, according to reports by two Phoenix television stations.

KPHO (Channel 5) and KPNX (Channel 12) both reported during their evening broadcasts that a grand jury is looking into accusations that Arpaio has abused his law enforcement power with criminal investigations of critics and political foes. The sheriff’s No. 2 man, Chief Deputy David Hendershott, is also targeted in the investigation, KPNX reported.

The stations said two of Maricopa County’s top appointed officials, County Manager David Smith and County Budget Director Sandi Wilson, received subpoenas to appear before the grand jury next week.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe will get to breathe a little easier for the next couple of months.

A judge in neighboring Pinal County today put a temporary halt to the criminal case against him by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Arizona Republic reported. The case is now on hold until the state Supreme Court decides whether to toss the charges for good.

Thomas and Arpaio have accused Donahoe, one of the most powerful judges in Maricopa County, of obstructing justice and taking bribes because he ruled against them in cases earlier this year.

A woman holds up a sign Monday outside of Maricopa County’s main courthouse as part of a large protest against prosecutor Andrew Thomas. Photo by Nick R. Martin

In his political campaigns, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has fashioned himself as a man of law, a prosecutor offering no tolerance to those who step past certain boundaries.

But on Monday, hundreds of lawyers gathered in front of the county’s main courthouse in downtown Phoenix to tell Thomas they believe he has crossed a line himself with his an ongoing war against some of the area’s most-powerful judges.

In recent weeks, the prosecutor has launched criminal investigations or leveled felony charges against several Superior Court judges, mostly for decisions they made from the bench.

“By your very conduct, Mr. Thomas, you have become a threat to the rule of law and to the very Constitution you swore to uphold,” attorney Tom Ryan shouted into the microphone, raising cheers and applause from the crowd. “You have made yourself a domestic enemy to our Constitution.”

In their inquiry into alleged corruption in Maricopa County, sheriff’s investigators have begun this week to ask questions about the State Bar of Arizona, the agency that licenses every lawyer in the state.

Investigators asked at least one former judge to answer questions about whether he has worked with the State Bar to file complaints against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, a close ally of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

According to a letter [PDF] obtained Wednesday by the Phoenix New Times, the sheriff’s office asked former Superior Court Judge Colin Campbell to respond to questions about the bar and a number of ongoing county disputes by 5 p.m. today.

Maricopa County’s elected top prosecutor, Andrew Thomas, talked at a news conference Wednesday about the criminal charges he just brought against Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe.

While Thomas was referring to the alleged “corruption” Donahoe has engaged in, many have voiced concerns that the prosecutor and his ally, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, are using their law enforcement powers to target their critics such as the judge.

“This is an absolutely sad day for any person in a free republic,” Thomas told reporters. “We are not going to be thwarted. We are not going to let anybody obstruct justice in the community.”

Judge Mundell

Perhaps it is a sign of just how fearful the leadership in Maricopa County has become in recent weeks.

On Thursday night, the county’s highest-ranking judge, Barbara Rodriguez Mundell, convinced a higher court to block search warrants on her house and judicial chambers by the sheriff’s office.

The only problem? The search warrants didn’t exist. At least not yet, anyway. Essentially, the judge convinced another court to block what amounted to an apparition, and in doing so, revealed just how high tensions have risen as the county’s sheriff and chief prosecutor continue their assault on those who have criticized them.

Adam Stoddard

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled this morning that Maricopa County detention officer Adam Stoddard, who has been in jail for nearly 10 days for contempt of court, should be freed.

In the ruling, the three-judge panel granted Stoddard’s freedom but said it has not yet decided on the original order that put him there. That means Stoddard could be back in jail if the court decides to uphold the decision by the lower-court judge.

Stoddard went to jail on Dec. 1 after being found in contempt for taking a confidential document from the files of defense attorney Joanne Cuccia while her back was turned in court. The whole incident was caught on courtroom security video, which eventually made its way to YouTube and news outlets like CNN.

Gary Donahoe

Maricopa County’s top prosecutor, Andrew Thomas, looked at a wall of television cameras on Wednesday and asked reporters not to take his next statement the wrong way.

“Quite candidly, you’re not going to find many prosecutors with the guts to prosecute judges,” said the county attorney.

He was obviously frustrated at the questions he had been getting. For nearly an hour, Thomas sputtered and sighed as he tried to explain why he had just filed criminal charges against one of the most powerful judges in Maricopa County, Gary Donahoe.

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.