Discovering that she reportedly violated conflict-of-interest legal guidelines and retaliated in opposition to deputies who challenged her authority, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court docket Decide James Emerson discovered trigger for Corpus’ removing on 4 expenses whereas dismissing greater than a dozen others, most involving retaliation claims by workers who opposed her management.
The opinion, issued final Monday after a 10-day public listening to was performed in August, is advisory solely. It comes greater than a 12 months after sheriff’s union members accused Corpus of corruption, misconduct, and conflicts of curiosity.
Though most expenses have been dismissed, the sustained findings — battle of curiosity associated to her relationship with former chief of employees Victor Aenlle, retaliation in opposition to a former captain, and the arrest of Deputy Sheriffs Affiliation president Carlos Tapia — have been among the many most severe raised in opposition to the sheriff. No felony expenses have been filed, and Emerson’s opinion carries no implications of guilt or innocence.
In his advisory opinion, Emerson defined his function was restricted to figuring out whether or not the alleged conduct occurred and whether or not it constituted authorized trigger for removing underneath a voter-approved change to the county constitution.
After the passage of Measure A, an initiative launched by the Board of Supervisors in November 2024 and handed by voters in March, the constitution was modified to permit the board to take away a sheriff with trigger by a four-fifths vote via 2028, the tip of Corpus’ time period.
As a result of the constitution requires solely “cause” — a decrease threshold than the “good cause” commonplace sometimes utilized to worker terminations — for removing, Emerson targeted on whether or not the acts probably occurred, somewhat than evaluating whether or not the vote to take away her in June or the method itself was honest.
The opinion additionally utilized a “preponderance of evidence” commonplace, which means Emerson judged whether or not the allegations have been extra probably true than not — a decrease threshold than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” commonplace in felony circumstances.
Among the many broader allegations Emerson rejected was that Corpus mismanaged the Sheriff’s Workplace Skilled Requirements Bureau, which investigates inside misconduct, and selectively focused investigations in opposition to employees who opposed her. The county argued at size through the removing hearings that she failed to finish severe investigations, created a backlog of circumstances, and confirmed favoritism in disciplinary choices.
Emerson discovered the county had not confirmed “flagrant or repeated neglect” of responsibility. He sustained one allegation of a delay in signing an inside affairs investigation, however concluded the only delay didn’t meet the constitution’s threshold for repeated neglect.
Emerson rejected a number of different claims in opposition to Corpus, the county’s first Latina sheriff, elected in 2022, together with allegations that she obstructed investigations, violated procedural rights, or systematically mismanaged inside affairs. He additionally discovered inadequate proof that she retaliated in opposition to different officers, together with a terminated assistant sheriff.
The primary sustained discovering concerned Corpus’ relationship with Aenlle, whom the county stated she positioned in positions created particularly for him, which the county argued he was unqualified for.
These points, central to the continued efforts to take away her, have been raised in a November 2024 report by retired Decide LaDoris Cordell and in a separate Keker, Van Nest & Peters investigation — the identical regulation agency that introduced the county’s case through the August hearings.
Emerson discovered that Corpus prioritized her private relationship with Aenlle over her responsibility to make hiring choices primarily based on advantage and equal alternative.
Corpus has denied any romantic relationship with Aenlle, describing him as a trusted adviser who helped implement reforms in a division she believed was resistant to alter. She argued that elected officers are entitled to pick out their advisers and that Aenlle’s hiring adopted correct procedures, noting that he’s a rich businessman who didn’t want the wage.
Emerson disagreed, writing that “in denying that she held a close personal relationship with Mr. Aenlle, appellant Sheriff Corpus has already lost credibility.” Though the county had targeted on establishing a romantic relationship between the 2, Emerson stated it was pointless to find out whether or not the connection was romantic to discover a battle of curiosity. He concluded as an alternative that textual content messages and testimony confirmed Corpus created positions for Aenlle with out aggressive hiring and sought larger pay for him.
Different sustained findings concerned retaliation in opposition to deputies and employees.
Emerson discovered foundation for 2 allegations in opposition to Corpus involving Tapia: that she retaliated in opposition to him, and that she ordered his warrantless arrest in November 2024, which he stated was with out possible trigger. The arrest occurred the identical day the Cordell report was launched.
Corpus defended the arrest as a authentic response to a timecard fraud grievance, saying a lieutenant reported that Tapia claimed pay for work he didn’t carry out. She stated she relied on an investigator’s possible trigger declaration when approving the arrest. Though the district legal professional later declined to file expenses, Corpus maintains that proof supported her determination.
A fourth sustained cost concerned Capt. Brian Philip, who oversaw the Skilled Requirements Bureau. He was transferred to corrections after refusing to ship an Inside Affairs discover he believed was unlawful. Emerson discovered the switch retaliatory and stated Philip’s refusal was protected underneath California labor regulation. Corpus described the transfer as a routine staffing determination, noting that Philip was probably the most junior captain and that each one command employees rotate via corrections.
In a press release this week, Corpus known as the removing course of “unconstitutional, corrupt and fundamentally unfair,” saying the board “wrote the rules, conducted the investigation and will now act as judge and jury.” She warned that permitting the method to proceed would expose different sheriffs to political retaliation.
