The San Joaquin County Superior Court says evidence used to obtain an arrest warrant for one of its former clerks should have never been in the hands of the county Sheriff’s Office.
In turn, the Sheriff’s Office has accused the Superior Court of impeding its investigation and trying to keep information from the public.
In a legal saga that began with deputies searching and arresting a different public official — a Stockton school board member — the latest twist is a simple misdemeanor. But the case, which has already triggered a surprise legal filing and new claims of improperly obtaining secret documents, now pits the criminal justice system against itself.
Last month, sheriff’s deputies arrested Pamela Edwards, a longtime legal process clerk for the court, on a misdemeanor charge of violating a court order in 2023 for allegedly releasing a sealed document from the school board investigation.
Edwards was set to be arraigned Wednesday. However, a lawyer for the court entered the fray with an unusual filing called an ex parte motion less than 24 hours before the hearing – the court is not a party to the case. In that emergency motion, the court asked that the arrest warrant be sealed.
The filing alleges the arrest warrant for Edwards contains “highly confidential and sensitive information” belonging to the Superior Court, described as employment records and security footage. The court also claims it did not provide the records or surveillance footage to the Sheriff’s Office and doesn’t know how they came to be in possession of authorities. …
Read the rest of the story below:
Cassie Dickman 