Jump to Content

Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Santa Clara County Blue Ribbon Commission on Improving Custody Operations collection
M2752  
View entire collection guide What's This?
Search this collection
Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Content Description
  • Conditions Governing Access
  • Conditions Governing Use
  • Preferred Citation

  • Language of Material: English
    Contributing Institution: Department of Special Collections and University Archives
    Title: Santa Clara County Blue Ribbon Commission on Improving Custody Operations collection
    source: Cordell, LaDoris
    Creator: Cordell, LaDoris
    Identifier/Call Number: M2752
    Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet (two manuscript storage boxes and one half manuscript storage box)
    Date (inclusive): 2006, 2014-2016, 2020

    Content Description

    This collection documents the Blue Ribbon Commission on Improving Custody Operations, Santa Clara County, 2015.
    The Blue Ribbon Commission was appointed in 2015 by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to investigate and evaluate the county jails in the aftermath of the murder of Michael Tyree, a mentally ill inmate. The Commission was chaired by Judge Ladoris Cordell, a retired Santa Clara County Superior Court judge.
    The documents consist of reports, meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence and other materials. The Commission's meetings were in public and all the information is available to the public. Many of the documents and reports are on Santa Clara County's Blue Ribbon Commission website: https://www.sccgov.org/sites/scc/Pages/brc.aspx.
    Many of the documents were produced by the Sheriff and her designees in response to requests from the Commission. The Sheriff (Laurie Smith) was in charge of jail operations. Some documents were provided by a private law firm that the Commission retained to interview jail inmates. The firms' final report includes a groundbreaking survey of jail inmates. The documents also include a report by Aaron Zisser, an individual retained by the Commission to review the inmate complaint process. There are minutes of Commission meetings and memoranda from various individuals connected to the Sheriff's Department.
    Kris Kasianovitz: Assemblage of paper documents relating to Blue Ribbon Commission on Improving Custody Operations, Santa Clara County, 2015. As noted by Judge Cordell in email to Felicia Smith, 10/12/20: "The subject of the material are documents connected to the Blue Ribbon Commission that was appointed in 2015 by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to investigate and evaluate the county jails in the aftermath of the murder of Michael Tyree, a mentally ill inmate. Three jail guards were subsequently convicted of his murder. Many of the documents were produced by the Sheriff and her designees in response to requests from the Commission that I chaired. The Sheriff (Laurie Smith) is in charge of jail operations. Some documents were provided by a private law firm that the Commission retained to interview jail inmates. The firms' final report includes a groundbreaking survey of jail inmate. The documents also include a report by Aaron Zisser, an individual retained by the Commission to review the inmate complaint process. There are minutes of our many meetings, memoranda from various individuals connected to the Sheriff's Department. Note: all of our meetings were in public and all of the information the documents are public. There is a link to many of the documents and reports on the county's Blue Ribbon Commission website:https://www.sccgov.org/sites/scc/Pages/brc.aspx"
    Moscone, Emblidge & Otis LLP.

    Conditions Governing Access

    Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.

    Conditions Governing Use

    While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish

    Preferred Citation

    [identification of item], Santa Clara County Blue Ribbon Commission on Improving Custody Operations collection (M2752). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Santa Clara County (Calif.)
    Prisons
    Corrections
    Prison administration
    Cordell, LaDoris