AZCOPS represents AZPOA member not defended by employer

(Posted: March 11, 2009)

By Martin Bihn
AZCOPS General Counsel

AZCOPS Legal was recently called upon to intervene to protect a member who had been left twisting in the wind by the Attorney General's Office. Our member, an adult probation officer, had been served with an Order to Show Cause as to why she should not be held in contempt by one ofthe defendants under her supervision.

Our member was supervising an offender who, among the terms and conditions of his probation, was required to attend sex offender screening and counseling. Our member was so alarmed by te results of the screening that she imediately ordered the offender to a polygraph. She also filed a motion with the judge seeking to impose additional terms of probation, including those barring the offender from contact with children.

At a hearing on the motion months later, the judge declined to impose the additional terms of probation. Several weeks later, our member discovered that the defendant had failed to attend the ordered polygraph. She ordered him to attend and his lawyer filed a motion. The offender's lawyer claimed that forcing the offender to comply with the original terms of his probation violated the court's later order declining to impose additional terms of probation. Although the motion was meritless, it did seek to hold our member in contempt of the court's order. 

Our member received the motion and promptly turned it over to her supervisors, but nothing happend. No response was filed. Our member contacted the AG's Office (the office specifically charged with representing the probation department and its employees) and was advised to "show up and ask for a continuance if it gets hary." This really is no representation at all. 

Finding no response to the motion, the court set the matter for hearing. Frankly, it is our sense that a timely response would have given the judge ample reason to deny the motion.

Two days before the hearing our member finally contacted the AZPOA leadership. Within hours, AZCOPS Legal was on board and the first thing we did was file a Response on behalf of the officer. Then we adivsed our member to contact her supervisors and the AG and let them know: (1) that she had counsel to protect her own interests, and (2) that the department better find a lawyer because her AZCOPS lawyer was not going to represent the department at the hearing.

Apparently this prodding finally set things in motion. The AG decided that it would be better to attend the hearing then wait and see if our member got screwed and asked for a continuance.

On the day of the hearing, the offender and his lawyer showed up. For our side, AZCOPS Legal, the County prosecutor, and AG all appeared. Additionally, several other probation officer members and our member's supervisor showed up for support. Even the victim's parents showed up to lend support for our officer.

After a contentious hearing, the judge denied the motion for contempt. The judge also pointed out that she was greatly aided by the Response we filed because after reading it she could understand our officer's reasoning. Our member was truly grateful that AZCOPS stepped in to protect her from what could have been an ugly contempt situation.

In a contempt proceeding our member could have been fined, jailed or had any other punishment imposed. This was all at the whim of the judge. Fortunately, this ended well because, even though our member did nothing wrong, AZCOPS responded, appeared, dragged all of the other lawyers in and made a very big showing for the judge that a lot of people and agencies were concerned for the officer.

Just remember if you are faced with a situation where you believe you are not being protected by your agency, contact your POA president and together we will get you the protection you need.