Video Here. Summary: Cop (Adam Stoddard) walks up to the defense lawyer's table during a hearing, swipes a letter out of the lawyer's file and pawns the letter off to an obese cop (Francisco Campillo) who waddles away with the document.
The deputy was later found to be in contempt of court. However, the fact that he felt that he could get away with something like this, especially considering how casual he acted as he walked up and just started going through the defense attorney's files, seems to indicate that this was not something new just for this instance. If the defendant had not been so alert as to catch him in the act, he probably would have gotten away with it this time too. Note the quote from Maricopa County Sheriff, and well known douchebag, 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,” 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.” Thanks Joe. I guess the police now get to decide what evidence is admissible in trial now. Glad to hear it. I'm not sure what the Arizona Rules of Evidence are, but I am very familiar with the Federal Rules of Evidence, which have been adopted in most states, and I think it's safe to say that the Judge, and only the Judge, is the one that makes evidentiary rulings about what is admissible at trial. I'm also pretty sure that the police are not supposed to be involved in this process in any way as it would be the Prosecutor's job to challenge the contents of the swiped document. But what the hell, if Joe Arpaio says the officer was doing his job that is good enough for me.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This doesn't surprise me coming from Joe Arpaio's county. It's most likely a publicity stunt. This guy has shown time and again that justice is meaningless to him, while gaining attention and fame from treating his prisoners (a large number of whom haven't even been convicted of anything, seeing as how Sheriff Joe runs a jail and not a prison) like beasts of burden and humiliating them.
ReplyDeleteSabotaging a defense attorney seems like just the thing that this guy would do proudly, since the filthy animal on trial is surely guilty, and deserves to spend some more time on ol' Joe's fabulous Tent City Motel, and damned if some weasel defense attorney is gonna get that scumbag off.
It especially disgusts me that the people of Maricopa county keep electing this pile of shit. Why have reasonable and competent law enforcement when your county can be famous for having the self proclaimed "Toughest Sheriff in America" and prisoners who work on chain-gangs and wear pink underwear?