LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's sheriff is asking an appellate court to overturn a judge's ruling requiring him to personally pay legal bills he's incurred in fighting a district attorney determination that he lied about a 2008 shooting.
Sheriff Frank Rivero filed the appeal with the First District Court of Appeals on July 9, serving the county of Lake with notice the following day, according to case documents. Full briefs in the case have not yet been filed.
He's appealing a May decision by Mendocino County Judge Richard Henderson, who – at the request of the Board of Supervisors – clarified a 2012 ruling requiring the board to hire outside counsel for Rivero, who at that point was under investigation by the District Attorney's Office for lying during an investigation.
The investigation revolved around a nonfatal February 2008 shooting in which Rivero – then a sheriff's deputy – shot at a man holding a can of pepper spray, a violation of sheriff's department protocol.
In February, after an investigation that had lasted nearly two years, District Attorney Don Anderson found there was evidence to support the conclusion that Rivero had lied to investigators about his actions, and Anderson placed Rivero on a list of “Brady” officers with credibility issues.
The “Brady” list is named for the 1963 US Supreme Court Case Brady v. Maryland, which requires the government to release to criminal defendants any potentially exculpatory evidence, including information about the credibility of peace officers involved in their cases.
Rivero subsequently sued Anderson in an attempt to prevent release of that information to criminal defendants – as Anderson legally is required to do – and to the public, and lost.
Following the February Brady determination, the county's supervisors put payment of all of Rivero's legal bills from the Fullerton-based Jones and Mayer law firm on hold until there was a clarification from Henderson on how long they were expected to pay for Rivero's legal action in response to Anderson's finding.
County Counsel Anita Grant said the bill for services rendered from the February decision through the third week of April was nearly $56,000, with additional fees incurred since then.
Henderson said during the May hearing that it had not been his intention to require the county to continue paying for Rivero's legal counsel past the final Brady determination.
He ordered an amended judgment and writ of mandate be prepared that stated that the independent counsel he had directed the county to hire for Rivero “shall not extend to any post-determination representation or litigation.”
One of Rivero's attorneys, Paul Coble, had indicated to Lake County News that an appeal was being considered shortly after Henderson's ruling clarification.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a budget transfer of $10,000 in order to hire an outside law firm to represent the county in the case going forward, according to Grant.
Grant said outside counsel is being brought in because one of her attorneys is retiring soon, and she doesn't believe she can fill the job before the start of the year.
She said that, considering the 40-percent increase in workload her office already has experienced, the county will need some assistance in defending the appeal.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
030413 Lake County District Attorney's Final Report Regarding Sheriff Rivero Brady determination
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