State attorney charged over tussle with bailiff in SLO courtroom
A state’s attorney arrested in a San Luis Obispo Superior courtroom after struggling with a bailiff who was allegedly trying to calm her during a court recess will appear back in local court Thursday on a misdemeanor charge.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office filed a single count of obstructing, resisting or delaying a peace officer against Deputy Attorney General Jennie Mariah Kelly, 49, of Thousand Oaks, District Attorney Dan Dow said Wednesday. Kelly is due in court to enter a plea at an arraignment Thursday morning.
Kelly’s attorney, Kara Stein-Conway, previously said in an email that the bailiff’s actions were a “gross and unjustified overreaction” and that Kelly was “unlawfully battered, forced to the ground and suffered having had her head pressed up against a metal rail.”
Kelly was three weeks into a wrongful termination civil trial in which she was representing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Department of Health Care Services when the incident occurred on Oct. 20. She was admonished several times by Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera for her “outbursts and inappropriate behavior,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Courthouse sources previously told The Tribune that the incident occurred during a recess after days of heated testimony and back-and-forth between Kelly and the plaintiff’s attorney. LaBarbera denied three motions by Kelly to dismiss the case, court records show.
In the incident, which was caught on courtroom surveillance video obtained by The Tribune through a public records request, Kelly is seen waving her arm at the plaintiff’s attorney before a bailiff approaches her and they speak for a moment.
At about 26 seconds into the video, the bailiff grabs what appears to be both of Kelly’s hands, before Kelly suddenly jerks both arms up out of his grip and the two struggle before the bailiff takes her down to the ground and radios for more deputies.
Other attorneys, including Kelly’s supervising attorney, appear to watch in disbelief.
Kelly was led from the courtroom, cited and released.
The action took place out of the presence of LaBarbera and the jury. When court was brought back to session, LaBarbera granted a defense motion to adjourn for the day.
The jury eventually ruled in favor of the state.
Kelly’s attorney, Stein-Conway, previously said that Kelly plans to fight any possible charge.
This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 7:29 PM with the headline "State attorney charged over tussle with bailiff in SLO courtroom."