Guide to the Santa Clara County Blue Ribbon Commission on Improving Custody Operations collection M2752
Gurudarshan Khalsa
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
2022
Green Library
557 Escondido Mall
Stanford 94305-6064
specialcollections@stanford.edu
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
Box 1, folder 5
Accusations by Laurie Smith
2016
Box 3, folder 7
Board of Supervisors
2016
Box 3, folder 6
Blue Ribbon Commission documents
2015, 2020
Scope and Contents
Also includes notes for a talk about the
Say Their Names exhibit at Stanford Libraries.
Box 1, folder 8
Krinsky Report - Citizens Commission on Jail Violence
2012-2015
Box 1, folder 9
Complaint process
2015-2016
Box 1, folder 11
Custody input records
2016
Box 2, folder 5
Inmate Welfare Fund (1 of 2)
2015-2016
Box 2, folder 6
Inmate Welfare Fund (2 of 2)
2015-2016
Box 1, folder 1
Jail conditions: Inmate, staff and family perspectives (1 of 2)
2016
Box 1, folder 2
Jail conditions: Inmate, staff and family perspectives (2 of 2)
2016
Box 2, folder 8
Jail Observer Program
2014
Box 1, folder 4
Morissey v. Smith
2016-2017
Box 2, folder 13
Prison Law Office
2015-2016
Box 1, folder 3
Supplemental information item number 5, Santa Clara County Jail grievance and complaint process
2016
Box 3, folder 9
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits - Certificate of Recognition
2016
