August 17, 2021 Santa Clara County Supervisors Want Feds to Investigate Sheriff, She Says ‘Bring It On’ By Barry Holtzclaw The supervisors’ action came one day after San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo called on Smith to resign immediately in the face of recent scandals and lawsuits. Read More 18
November 18, 2020 Santa Clara County Trades Jail Plans for Mental Health Facility By Jana Kadah, Bay City News In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors reinforced its commitment to build a new mental health facility. Read More 1
August 14, 2020 Inmates Go on Hunger Strike to Demand Better Conditions in Santa Clara County Jails By Jennifer Wadsworth Organizers say they’re also staging the action in solidarity with protests against racist policing in Santa Clara County and throughout the U.S. Read More 11
June 24, 2020 Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Cadet Dies After Collapsing During Academy Training By Jennifer Wadsworth John Nishimura collapsed while sparring with a proctor clad in what’s known as RedMan gear, a padded suit designed to absorb strikes. Read More 6
October 24, 2019 Audit Shows Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Internal Accountability Reforms Stalled for Years By Jennifer Wadsworth Auditors say the Sheriff’s Office refused to cooperate with reviews that unearthed unsettling findings about internal accountability. Read More 6
August 7, 2019 DA Targets Sheriff’s Inner Circle in Apparent Corruption Probe By Jennifer Wadsworth Santa Clara County’s six-term sheriff and her closest allies are the subject of an ongoing criminal inquiry led by the office of DA Jeff Rosen. Read More 36
February 6, 2019 Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith Slams Draft Jails Audit By The Fly The county’s top cop demands notes, recordings and other source material auditors may have used to compile the already overdue draft. Read More 6
January 24, 2019 Santa Clara County DA: ‘No Matter How Long It Takes, We Will Bend the Arc Toward Justice By Silicon Valley Newsroom A transcript of the speech Jeff Rosen delivered at his Jan. 23, 2019, swearing-in to a third term as district attorney. Read More 25
November 14, 2018 Santa Clara County Settles Lawsuit Over Jail Conditions for Physically Disabled Inmates By Jennifer Wadsworth This marks the second consent decree imposed on the county jail system—the fifth largest in California—since last month. Read More 2
November 7, 2018 Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith Poised for Sixth Term By The Fly John Hirokawa forced his former boss into her first runoff, but Sheriff Laurie Smith still managed to secure a commanding lead. Read More 4
October 23, 2018 Santa Clara Co. Settles Prison Law Office Litigation Over Unlawful Jail Conditions By Silicon Valley Newsroom After three years of negotiations, the county has reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit over unconstitutional jail conditions. Read More 1
October 1, 2018 Santa Clara County Pays $365K to Settle Excessive-Force Case By Jennifer Wadsworth Santa Clara County has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by former inmate Rikki Martinez, who says he was brutally beaten by jail guards. Read More 1
October 1, 2018 Valley Med Psychiatrist Jan Weber Wins $1.5 Million in Wrongful Termination Suit By Jennifer Wadsworth A Stanford-trained psychiatrist who lost his job at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center won a $1.5 million judgment last week. Read More 4
September 28, 2018 Ex-Deputy’ Union President Don Morrissey Resigns From Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office By Jennifer Wadsworth Don Morrissey, a twice-demoted deputy who recently resigned as union president, is set to give up his badge this weekend. Read More 0
September 24, 2018 Santa Clara County Wants a Closer Look at Sheriff Laurie Smith’s Overtime Spending By Jennifer Wadsworth The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office has far exceeded its overtime budget in the past six years, according to a newly published audit. Read More 11
September 10, 2018 Proposed Carve-Out of Homeless Housing Bond Meets Resistance from Silicon Valley Nonprofits By Jennifer Wadsworth The county will consider setting aside 5 percent of a homeless housing bond for developmentally disabled people who are already housed. Read More 6