Special Notice / Hearing: None
Vote Required: 4/5ths
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: John D. Nibbelin, County Attorney
Subject: Consideration of Initiating Process to Remove Sheriff Corpus
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution:
A) Confirming removal procedures adopted pursuant to Section 412.5 of the San Mateo County Charter; and
B) Adopting and approving issuance of a written Notice of Intent to Remove Sheriff Christina Corpus for cause and initiating removal procedures to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus from office pursuant to Section 412.5 of the San Mateo County Charter; and
C) Directing staff to provide Sheriff Christina Corpus the adopted and approved Notice of Intent to Remove.
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BACKGROUND:
On March 4, 2025, the County held a Special Election on Countywide Measure A to amend the San Mateo County Charter to add Section 412.5, which would grant the Board of Supervisors authority, until December 31, 2028, to remove an elected sheriff for certain enumerated causes (“Charter Amendment”).
The full text of the Charter Amendment is as follows:
412.5. Removal of Elected Sheriff for Cause
a. The Board of Supervisors may remove a Sheriff from office for cause, by a four-fifths vote, after a Sheriff has been:
(1) Served with a written statement of alleged grounds for removal; and
(2) Provided a reasonable opportunity to be heard regarding any explanation or defense.
b. For the purposes of this Section 412.5, “cause” shall mean any of the following:
(1) Violation of any law related to the performance of a Sheriff’s duties; or
(2) Flagrant or repeated neglect of a Sheriff’s duties as defined by law; or
(3) Misappropriation of public funds or property as defined in California law; or
(4) Willful falsification of a relevant official statement or document; or
(5) Obstruction, as defined in federal, State, or local law applicable to a Sheriff, of any investigation into the conduct of a Sheriff and/or the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office by any government agency (including the County of San Mateo), office, or commission with jurisdiction to conduct such investigation.
c. The Board of Supervisors may provide for procedures by which a removal proceeding pursuant to this Section 412.5 shall be conducted.
d. This Section 412.5 shall not be applied to interfere with the independent and constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative function of a Sheriff.
e. This Section 412.5 shall sunset and be of no further force and effect as of December 31, 2028 unless extended by voters of San Mateo County.
The Charter Amendment was approved overwhelmingly, with approximately 84% of the votes cast in favor by the electorate and, pursuant to Elections Code Section 9122, the Charter Amendment took effect on April 18, 2025, which is 10 days after the certified election results for Measure A were approved by this Board.
As reflected above, Section 412.5.c. of the San Mateo County Charter states that the Board “may provide for procedures by which a removal proceeding pursuant to this Section 412.5 shall be conducted[]”. The Hanson Bridgett LLP law firm was retained to advise and assist in developing removal procedures pursuant to Section 412.5.c (“Removal Procedures”), a draft of which Removal Procedures was presented to the Board at its meeting on April 8, 2025.
The draft Removal Procedures were revised after receiving input from the Board, from members of the public, from the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP, which has been retained by the County to handle a potential removal proceeding under the Charter Amendment, and from Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney, the law firm retained by the County to represent the Sheriff as to specific matters pursuant to Government Code Section 31000.6.
The Removal Procedures were presented to the Board at its meeting on May 6, 2025 and approved. The Board’s motion approving the Removal Procedures modified only Section I(4)(6) to read as follows: “That the Board will propose to the Sheriff a list of at least three (3) neutral Hearing Officers, with experience in public safety officer disciplinary matters, available to timely preside over the Removal Hearing, with a preference that such Hearing Officer who otherwise meets these criteria be a retired judge[.]”
In the resolution accompanying this memorandum, the Board will be confirming that the motion approving the Removal Procedures on May 6, 2025 only modified Section I(4)(6), while other provisions, including those related to the officer presiding over the Pre-Removal Conference, remained unchanged from the text of the Removal Procedures presented to the Board at the May 6, 2025 meeting.
DISCUSSION:
Keker, Van Nest & Peters, LLP has completed an independent investigation of allegations of misconduct against Sheriff Christina Corpus and drafted and transmitted to me a Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove Sheriff Christina Corpus that constitutes a written statement of alleged grounds for removal as required by Section 412.5 of the San Mateo County Charter and complies with sub-Sections I(1) and (2) of the Removal Procedures (“Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove”).
The Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove, a 59-page single-spaced document supported by an additional 524 pages of evidence (consisting of 68 exhibits) and 42 witness interviews, reflects a detailed and thorough investigation into the Sheriff’s actions. The Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove concludes that the Sheriff engaged in multiple acts of misconduct that, if true, support removal from office based on the following causes set forth in Section 412.5 of the Charter: (1) violation of law related to performance of the Sheriff’s duties; (2) flagrant and repeated neglect of the Sheriff’s duties; and (3) obstruction of an investigation into the conduct of the Sheriff.
Copies of the Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove were transmitted, individually, to each member of the Board of Supervisors and to Sheriff Corpus on Monday June 2nd.
Given that Keker Van Nest & Peters has completed work on the Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove, it is appropriate to promptly bring the matter to the Board for its consideration. Both Sheriff Corpus and the County have repeatedly expressed a desire for a transparent process. It has been reported that the Sheriff, for example, is looking forward to a public hearing, having repeatedly been quoted as stating that “I am now entitled to a public evidentiary hearing before a neutral and unbiased body.”
Accordingly, it is the County’s intent and desire to post for the public a redacted version of the Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove in advance of the June 5th meeting. However, the County has given Sheriff Corpus until 9:00 AM on June 4, 2025 to object to that public posting, if she chooses to do so. (Attached to this memorandum is a copy of the letter dated June 2, 2025 sent to the attorneys representing the Sheriff pursuant to Government Code Section 31000.6 notifying them of the County’s intent to make the Notice of Intent to Remove publicly available.) If the Sheriff objects to the public posting of the Proposed Notice of Intent to Remove, it will not be shared publicly at this time.
Under the Removal Procedures, a vote by the Board to approve and issue the Notice of Intent to Remove requires at least a four-fifths vote. If the Board votes to approve the issuance of the Notice of Intent to Remove, a Pre-Removal Conference must occur within five (5) days after the notice is provided to the Sheriff. The individual presiding over the Pre-Removal Conference-identified in the Removal Procedures, in the first instance, as the Chief Probation Officer of San Mateo County-will consider the information presented at the Pre-Removal Conference and issue a recommendation, in writing, to the Board regarding whether to remove the Sheriff.
Upon receipt of the recommendation from the Pre-Removal Conference, the Board shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, render its decision to either sustain or reject the recommendation. A decision to proceed with removal the Sheriff requires a vote by the Board of at least four-fifths and is subject to appeal by the Sheriff in the form of a Removal Hearing, an evidentiary hearing before a neutral hearing office that would likely occur in August 2025. The Removal Hearing would be open to the public unless the Sheriff objects and requests, instead, a closed hearing.
COMMUNITY IMPACT:
Initiating removal of the Sheriff for cause, pursuant to Measure A, which was approved by San Mateo County voters, is consistent with the County’s dedication to responsive, equitable, responsible, and accountable government.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact to the County associated with taking action pursuant to Section 412.5 of the San Mateo County Charter. However, litigation of any removal proceeding will result in significant legal fees and associated costs of a yet undetermined amount.