What next? & Update

ABC News in Phoenix reports that Detention Officer Stoddard has been ordered to jail.

A Maricopa County Sheriff's detention officer must report to jail Tuesday or a bench warrant will be issued for his arrest, according to court officials.

So, the ball moves from Judge Donahoe's court back to Sheriff Joe and the boys.

Scott Greenfield points out that we could be heading for a constitutional crisis if the Sheriff continues to defy court orders. There's some history of that happening nationally.
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.

But we'll see what happens now.

One of the commentators on Scott's post reports
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.

And the beat goes on.

UPDATE

Scott Greenfield taking from Nick Martin at Heat City, has updated with the latest news.

Stoddard is hanging out in the same courtroom where all this began, doing his job (which may or may not include additional snooping through confidential legal files), and not going to jail.

His lawyer says that Judge Donahoe's order is not self-executing.

Donahoe’s order said that if Stoddard did not apologize, he “shall report to the jail on December 1, 2009 and be detained until further order of this Court upon a finding that he has complied.”

But Stoddard’s attorney told Heat City today that he believes Donahoe’s order alone is not enough to put the detention officer behind bars for contempt of court.

Deputy county attorney Tom Liddy said Donahoe needs to also issue an arrest warrant or an order of confinement. He said Stoddard “cannot walk in off the street” and present himself to the jail. “It doesn’t work that way,” he said.

Meantime, Liddy said he and other attorneys still preparing to file a request with the Arizona Court of Appeals to strike down Donahoe’s ruling.

“These are tactical and strategic decisions that need to be made,” he said.