About 20 Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies and detention officers failed to show for work at the downtown Phoenix Superior Court Wednesday morning, disrupting an untold number of proceedings.

The courthouse was further thrown into disarray about 10 a.m. when a bomb threat was called in by someone who claimed to be disgruntled with the Maricopa County Public Defender's Office, a sheriff's spokesman said.

About 15 minutes later, court authorities evacuated the building. An estimated 200 people were waiting out the evacuation at a plaza across the street from the court buildings.

"We have a credible threat," said Sgt. Glen Czapski of the sheriff's department.

Traffic slowly began to trickle back in to the buildings about 1 p.m., but by then many cases and hearings had been disrupted.

Court administrators were in the process of determining the impact that the deputies and officers' absences had on the court when the buildings were evacuated.

Administrators were notified this morning that 19 deputies and detention officers would be taking sick leave and one additional officer would be out "due to unforeseen circumstances," said Criminal Court Administrator Bob James.

Inmate transports were affected and high-volume courts, such as early disposition courts were "definitely affected," he said.

"There are well over 100 in-custody inmates that affects," James said.

James was able to determine that an additional five to 10 criminal court divisions were impacted by the absences, but he had not contacted all the divisions before the buildings were evacuated.

A representative for the Maricopa County Association of Detention Officers, John Solano, said the high absenteeism was not a coordinated act of solidarity for detention officer Adam Stoddard, who turned himself Tuesday night in to serve a sentence for contempt. That sentence stemmed from an incident in which Stoddard removed documents from a defense attorney's during a defendant's sentencing hearing.

Solano said a number of sheriff's personnel have been out sick of late.

Solano and other detention officers refused to answer any questions about the "brownout" at a Tuesday afternoon press conference where more than 150 deputies and detention officers gathered outside the courthouse and reiterated their support of Stoddard.

The sheriff's personnel repeatedly said "they would not stand down" in their support of Stoddard, but could not elaborate on whether that support would include more press conferences or any other forms of protest. "We don't want to create a problem," Solano said, distancing the union from the decisions of sheriff's personnel who called in sick. "We don't have any protests. We don't plan for any protests. Our solidarity is for officer Stoddard."

Deputy Sean Pearce, a representative from the Deputies Law Enforcement Association, thought the high number of absences Wednesday showed how sheriff's personnel felt about Stoddard's situation. "I think it sends out a message that this officer has integrity�Why should he apologize for doing his job?" Pearce asked.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said he had no indication that the sick-leave in the courts was related to Stoddard's situation.

"I do have a political prisoner in jail who happens to be my Detention Officer," Arpaio added.

Deputy Chief. Dave Trombi confirmed that a number of detention officers and deputies called in sick, but it's not immediately clear whether the personnel were detention officers who provide security in the courthouse or those who help transport inmates to and from court.

The bomb threat was the second in a week. On Monday, a caller who claimed he was upset with the Public Defender's Office said there was a bomb in the court complex, but security officers felt it was a vague threat and only stepped up screening of court patrons and staff.

The caller Wednesday was apparently more specific, again saying he was upset with the Public Defender's Office, but this time claiming that he had planted devices in the Central and West Court buildings and he was going to detonate them. The entire court complex was immediately evacuated, and at least 10 search dogs from three agencies � the Sheriff's Office, the state Department of Corrections and Phoenix Police � were called to the scene to scour the building.

People who have business at the court are encouraged to call 602-506-6000 for updates. The evacuation may last upward of a couple of hours, authorities suggested.