Retiring sheriff Laurie Smith faces expulsion from office if she is found guilty of any one of six corruption accusations made by a civil grand jury last year.
. The key difference is that a unanimous guilty verdict on any count can only result being forcibly removed from office and barred from holding a elected position again.
The trial is expected to last at least into November, meaning that any guilty finding would amount to Smith’s departure a few weeks prior to her term ending in January. Fineman, the Peninsula judge, is presiding over the trial at the Old Courthouse in downtown San Jose because the Santa Clara County Superior Court, whose security is provided by Smith’s office, recused itself. In the same vein, San Francisco prosecutors are trying the case because of conflicts involving the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office, which served as legal advisor to the sheriff’s office, as well as the county district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the criminal indictments.