Judge orders partial release of spending records in Sheriff Corpus corruption probe

"As of press time Friday, those records remained sealed. In April, Corpus' lawyers filed a lawsuit to compel the release of supporting documents, including financial records, tied to the Cordell investigation. That probe prompted calls for Corpus to step down and led to a special election in March that granted the board the power to remove a sheriff with cause until Corpus' term ends in 2028."

"It is hard to imagine what different/additional information could exist in her retainer agreement that would qualify as covered by the attorney/client privilege and outweigh the purpose of the CPRA (public records act) request and the public's right to know what their government is doing, Finigan said in his ruling. The judge ordered the county to release the contract with Cordell and any documents submitted for her compensation, including timesheets and invoices."

"However, Finigan denied the release of two other categories of documents: records of payments made to Cordell, because the county said it did not possess them; and requests for public funds or budget authorization for the contract, because they were not part of the original public records request. In his ruling, Finigan determined the county had waived its right to claim attorney-client or work-product privilege over the documents by publicly releasing Cordell's report, which included her findings and impressions of witnesses."

A San Mateo County judge ordered the release of the contract with retired Judge LaDoris Cordell and documents submitted for her compensation, including timesheets and invoices, related to the corruption and misconduct investigation into Sheriff Christina Corpus. Corpus' legal team had sued to compel release of supporting financial records after the county denied a public records request citing attorney-client privilege. The probe prompted calls for Corpus to step down and produced a special election granting the board removal power with cause until 2028. The judge found the county waived privilege by publicly releasing Cordell's report and required redaction of witness identities; two document categories were withheld or excluded from the original request.

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