Former court clerk Pamela Edwards appeared in court this week for the first time since being arrested last fall.
The ex-San Joaquin County Superior Court records clerk is facing criminal charges alleging she knowingly releasing a sealed document to reporters in November 2023. She pleaded not guilty to the charge in March through her attorney.
Judge Erin Guy Castillo had ordered Edwards present for a hearing in Lodi Monday, one of nearly a dozen pretrial hearings held in the case since December, to determine if her case was ready for trial. Her attorney David Wellenbrock had previously appeared on Edwards’ behalf.
On Monday afternoon, Edwards chatted with a court employee in a second-floor Lodi courtroom while her attorneys and the prosecution met in chambers with Judge Guy Castillo.
The former clerk sported a bright floral shirt and maroon-colored hair as she waited for the public hearing to resume. It was her first appearance in a courtroom since being charged in November with a misdemeanor for disobeying a court order.
After about 10 minutes, Castillo, the prosecution and the defense returned to the courtroom, where it was announced Edwards’ case would go for jury trial assignment June 13 in Stockton.
When asked for comment from Edwards, Wellenbrock said: “My Client’s been advised not to talk to anybody about the case.”
San Joaquin County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Edwards Nov. 13 for violating a court order by allegedly knowingly releasing a sealed document in 2023. That document was a search warrant from the high-profile fraud case against AngelAnn Flores, a Stockton Unified School District trustee.
Unsealed in March, the warrant authorized sheriff’s deputies to search Flores’ home, electronic devices and online accounts, as well as Stockton Unified School District offices.
An accompanying deputy’s affidavit seeking permission for the search made sweeping claims of misconduct and financial crimes against several school board members and local figures in addition to Flores, though there are significant questions about the supporting evidence.
Following Edwards’ arrest by sheriff’s deputies in November 2024, her case was marked by unusual attempts by the Superior Court to keep her arrest warrant — and deputies’ accompanying affidavit arguing for it — sealed. A judge ultimately unsealed that warrant in January.
A judge has not yet been assigned to preside over Edwards’ trial, which Castillo told the court would last three to five days.
“We don’t know the judge assignment until that morning due to the number of recusals,” said Castillo, who served as the presiding judge for the majority of Edwards’ pretrial hearings in both Stockton and Lodi. The trial will take place at the county superior court’s Stockton courthouse.
Dozens of SJ County judges and court commissioners have recused themselves from Edwards’ case, according to online court records. Edwards worked for the superior court for nearly three decades as a records clerk.
Judge Charlotte Orcutt is listed as the judge presiding over Edwards’ jury trial assignment hearing next week, according to online court records, though it’s unlikely Orcutt will end up being the trial judge, as she has also recused herself from the case.
Wellenbrock, who represented Edwards through the pretrial process and was present at Monday’s hearing, has also stepped aside as lead attorney. He declined to comment to Stocktonia on the reason for the change.
Edwards will be defended by Stockton-based attorney Randy E. Thomas when her case goes to trial. Thomas was unable to make Monday’s hearing but was represented by another lawyer from his firm, Saveel Khan.
Deputy District Attorney Kaylee De Ruyter will prosecute the case for the district attorney’s office.