SAN MATEO — Months after being charged with corruption in office in a case that could force her removal from office, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith formally denied the accusations at a remote court hearing Tuesday.
Smith, 69, was charged by civil grand jury accusation last December of “corrupt or willful misconduct” in office, stemming from the same investigation that resulted in indictments against two of her top commanders, alleging they conspired with Smith’s political supporters and a fundraiser to broker concealed-gun permits — signed by Smith — in exchange for political donations and favors.
“I deny all counts,” Smith said in a brief court statement Tuesday morning, before waiving her right to a speedy trial.
The corruption accusation process is not criminal and cannot result in jail time, but follows a similar structure as a criminal proceeding. After being arraigned Tuesday, Smith and her attorney will face trial at a to-be-determined date. If convicted, Smith will be removed from office.
Before entering a plea, Smith lost her first legal battle: A series of objections to the charges, filed last month by her attorney, which argued the grand jury used ambiguous language and failed to specify when and how she committed misconduct.
Smith had already announced she will not be running for a seventh term of office, meaning that whether the charges or sustained or not this is her final year as sheriff. She cited what she called “specious” attacks on her — including the gun-permit scandal — as a factor in her decision.
Last December, a civil grand jury in Santa Clara County charged Smith with seven corruption-related acts. Six involve ongoing criminal indictments alleging Smith engaged in political favoritism and traded favors by leveraging her control over issuing concealed-carry weapons permits. The seventh accuses her of failing to cooperate with the county law-enforcement auditor in an investigation into negligence allegations stemming from a 2018 jail inmate’s injury that led to a $10 million county settlement.
The case is being handled in San Mateo County Superior Court, and is being prosecuted by the San Francisco District Attorney, to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
The process of removing municipal and county elected officials from office through a grand jury accusation alleging “corrupt or willful misconduct,” permitted by a 1943 state law, is rarely used. In the Bay Area, the most recent such case was the failed attempt to oust Contra Costa County Assessor Gus Kramer, who faced trial after a civil grand jury accused him of sexual and racist comments on the job.
A judge in that case, however, declared a mistrial, and Kramer kept his job after the trial jurors couldn’t all agree whether most of the allegations constituted workplace harassment under state law or whether he should be booted from office.
In 2017, Contra Costa District Attorney Mark Peterson was accused of corrupt or willful misconduct for allegedly embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from his own campaign fund. Before that case could make it to court, Peterson was hit with criminal charges stemming from the same conduct and pleaded no contest to felony perjury, leading to his removal from office for being a convicted felon.
Staff writer Robert Salonga contributed to this report.
Source: www.mercurynews.com