Judge says Corpus must testify in civil grand jury

On May 28, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe subpoenaed Corpus to appear for the civil grand jury to “testify as a witness in a pending investigation” on June 10. Shortly after, the sheriff’s attorneys asked the court to recuse Wagstaffe and halt the trial altogether. Corpus alleged Wagstaffe had personal and professional conflicts that “create an untenable situation that compromises the integrity of these proceedings.” 

Healy decided the issue was not yet ripe for consideration, Wagstaffe said. Healy has now made three separate decisions against Corpus’ wishes to enjoin the processes underway to remove her from office, including allowing the March 4 charter amendment vote to proceed and for the Board of Supervisors’ proposed removal proceedings to move forward. 

Civil grand jury proceedings are, by law, confidential so Wagstaffe could not discuss the matter further, but said more information may be available in coming weeks. However, Corpus’ motion — which was filed publicly, rather than under seal — included rational and details relating to her position as sheriff, key whistleblowers against her administration, and lawsuits filed relating to Corpus and her administration. 

Corpus may be the first sheriff removed from office in California’s history over allegations of misconduct. 

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors recently initiated the proceedings to consider removing Corpus from office, which may ultimately result in an under-oath evidentiary hearing and a final vote by the board to remove the elected sheriff.

A pre-removal conference was held with both Corpus’ and the county’s counsel teams and in front of Chief Probation Officer John Keene, county spokesperson Effie Milionis Verducci said. The next step is for Keene to complete his official written recommendation and present it to the Board of Supervisors for consideration. There is no time restriction on this step in the process, Milionis Verducci said. 

The pre-removal conference was recorded and will be made public, unless Corpus objects, which she has historically done. Corpus denied publishing the formal notice of intent for removal, which initiated the proceedings.

Even if Corpus requests the contents of Keene’s recommendation be kept private, the recommendation itself will ultimately be made public after it is either sustained or rejected by the Board of Supervisors. The board will then make a final decision to remove Corpus — made possible by a four-fifths vote — which can then be appealed by Corpus if she wants an evidentiary under-oath hearing, in front of a separate hearing officer from Keene. 

This under-oath evidentiary hearing will be open, unless Corpus objects.

Separate from the Board of Supervisor’s process underway, an alternative means to remove an elected sheriff is by the civil grand jury. In California, a civil grand jury is able to investigate and bring a formal accusation against an elected official. If the official is found guilty by the civil grand jury, they are removed from office.