LODI, CA – Former San Joaquin County Superior Court clerk Pamela Edwards entered a plea of not guilty in response to a misdemeanor charge of “disobeying a court order” for allegedly releasing sealed court documents to the Stockton Record, according to Recordnet.
Edwards, arrested last November, has not been present for any of the previous court proceedings, and entered the plea through her attorney, David Wellenbrock, Recordnet continues.
Recordnet reported the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office accused Edwards, a “27-year veteran of the court, of releasing without authorization a copy of the sealed search warrant to the newspaper in November 2023. The warrant was related to a separate criminal case against Stockton Unified School District Trustee AngelAnn Flores.”
The previous court hearings for Edwards, held at Stockton courthouse, focused on the employer of Edwards requesting the judge to seal Edwards’ arrest warrant, Recordnet writes.
“San Joaquin Superior County officials accused the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office of obtaining confidential information and security camera footage without authorization from the court during their investigation into Edwards,” reported Recordnet.
Then, in January, Judge Erin Guy Castillo ruled against the court sealing Edwards’ arrest warrant, charging the SJCSO didn’t have standing, according to Recordnet.
At the most recent hearing, Recordnet writes, two motions were set to be discussed. But, later, Judge Roy Hashimoto ordered the sealed search warrant the clerk “knowingly” released be unsealed, addressing the defense motion to unseal these records.
The second motion up for discussion was the prosecution motion to schedule a trial, reports Recordnet, noting, “Wellenbrock requested that the trial be scheduled for June,” while “Deputy District Attorney Kaylee De Ruyter requested April trial dates.”
Recordnet wrote Judge Castillo “told the courtroom that only about two or three judges were allowed to take the case because many others had been recused,” and then “set a pretrial conference at 1:30 p.m. on April 7 at the Lodi courthouse and a jury trial assignment at 8:15 a.m. on June 13.”
During court, the defense threatened to file a Pitchess motion, and may request the personnel records of at least one of the officers involved in the case against Edwards, Recordnet added.
