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Mayor Lee says sheriff's guilty plea and court record prompted official-misconduct charges; expert warns of trust and prosecutorial risk
Summary
At a San Francisco commission hearing, Mayor Lee testified he relied on Sheriff Mark Mercarini's guilty plea and court record to bring official-misconduct charges, and retired Chief Lansdowne, testifying as the mayor's expert, said a sheriff's conviction can damage interagency trust and create Brady-list risks for prosecutions.
Mayor London N. Lee told a San Francisco commission that he relied principally on the criminal court record and the sheriff's guilty plea when he filed charges alleging official misconduct against Sheriff Mark Mercarini. "I did meet with the sheriff," Lee said, and later explained he had "waited for the whole criminal prosecution to complete itself" before reviewing the record and deciding to charge.
The mayor confirmed on cross-examination that he had told reporters he believed the sheriff "beat his wife," and said the basis for that public statement was the court records and Mercarini's admission of guilt. "Primarily his plea to that charge, and the acceptance of the sentencing that goes with it," Lee said when asked what convinced him the sheriff had committed the offense at issue.
Under questioning, Lee…
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