Judges complain to sheriff about poor security in the courthouse; bailiffs falling asleep, murder suspects left unattended with no shackles

BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer

Two San Mateo County judges say a man charged with murder wandered the back hallways of the courthouse without his leg shackles. They say jurors complained that the bailiffs were distracted in court cases, playing on their phones. And in one case, the bailiff fell asleep.

Judges Stephanie Garratt and Elizabeth Lee said in an email to Sheriff Christina Corpus that they had seen “frequent lapses in security protocol” by deputies who transport inmates from the jail to the courthouses over the last year. 

The judges’ email, dated Dec. 13, was obtained by the Daily Post through a California Public Records Act Request through San Mateo County. The sheriff’s office provides bailiffs for the courtrooms and deputies to take inmates between the jail and courtrooms. 

“The continued shortage of transportation deputies who are available to staff this critical unit and who are adequately trained in safety protocols continues to plague the unit. This is an inherent problem that appears to be getting worse rather than better. To say we are concerned is an understatement,” the judges’ email said. 

The Sheriff’s Office didn’t provide a response to each allegation raised by the judges. But sheriff’s spokeswoman Gretchen Spiker said, in general, “The sheriff’s office will not compromise on the quality of hires and the level of services we provide to our communities.”

Murder suspect unshackled

The judges highlighted five incidents in their email to Corpus, including when a murder suspect was allowed to wander the back hall where judges and court employees have offices. The suspect was not shackled and was in everyday clothes, Lee and Garratt said. 

The judges said court employees could have easily mistaken him for an attorney or member of the public. 

“It is absolutely unacceptable that a defendant, particularly a homicide defendant, is allowed to walk around judges and staff unrestrained,” the judges said. 

Corpus, in her response to the judges, said she called for an emergency meeting to address their concerns and said she has been working to fill the 100 vacancies she inherited when she became sheriff in January 2023. Corpus said she only had 36 vacancies in December. 

Worth the risk?

“Filling positions is great, but if they are being filled with the quality of personnel we’ve seen recently, then it’s not worth the risk,” Garratt said.

The judges also brought up concerns about a Dec. 2 alleged sexual assault between a male and female inmate while they were being taken from the jail to the courthouse. 

“We never had these problems of this magnitude until this past year,” Garratt said. “It appears to be the quality of hires and the lack of training that are causing issues.”

Shortages

Employee shortages in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office placed the department at a “critical juncture” in which employees’ “workload and schedule cannot be safely sustained,” said a June report from a consultant, Meliorna Public Safety.

The consultant noted that police and sheriff’s departments across the U.S. are experiencing staffing shortages. The report also said the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has been making a “concerted effort” to fill vacancies since 2023.

Members of the deputy’s union raised alarm bells on Oct. 9 when they said the sheriff’s office was pulling deputies from street patrols to staff the court. Some within the department said they felt their concerns were falling on “deaf ears” and the sheriff’s staffing is “dangerously thin.”

Deputy fell asleep

Another incident the judges bring up is where a transportation deputy “fell asleep” during a murder hearing and the other deputy, who was in training, was “nodding off.” Both these deputies were scolded by another deputy. 

“Having a deputy carrying a weapon and taking medicine that makes him fall asleep while transporting a homicide defendant is unbelievable,” Garratt said.

Corpus said that two of the deputies involved in the incidents had recently transferred from other local sheriff’s offices with court experience.

A manager of court reporters, the people who create written records of court hearings, was walking down the hallways behind courtrooms and saw that a transportation deputy left a shackled defendant in the hallway unattended for “quite some time,” the judges said.  

The judges point out that near those hallways are multiple judges chambers and the defendant could have “shuffled into” one of those rooms. 

A judge told Lee and Garratt that his jury had complained that the bailiff and deputies in the courtroom during the trial were constantly using their phones and “looking like they were playing games or doing internet searches,” they wrote. 

Court spokesman Dan Radovich declined to comment when asked about court security.

The release of the emails comes as Corpus and her critics campaign for Measure A, which is aimed at ousting the sheriff before her term is up in 2028. A report by retired Judge LaDoris Cordell found that Corpus had engaged in nepotism, abuse of power, retaliation, intimidation, racism, homophobia and conflicts of interest. Ballots for Measure A are due March 4.