A time for reckoning or redemption has arrived for Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, whose corruption trial continued Friday with witness testimony after a painstaking week of jury selection.
Smith faces five counts of willful and corrupt misconduct for allegedly giving concealed weapons permits to campaign donors or special VIPs, as well as an additional count of misconduct for allegedly stonewalling an investigation into a jail inmate injury.
Legal experts told NBC Bay Area in this case, it is complicated when jurors call themselves "pro-law enforcement."
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“Does that mean that they resent the fact that the defendant had violated the law, and that they’ll vote strongly against them? Or does that mean that they give additional credit to the defendant because she is a member of law enforcement?” said legal analyst Dean Johnson
In their opening statement, prosecutors said Smith used a system of favoritism and asked jurors, in essence, who guards the guardians?
Smith’s attorney Allen Ruby ridiculed the accusation that the sheriff had a system of favoritism, telling jurors records will show a legitimate process for the concealed weapon permits.
Prominent Bay Area attorney Paula Canny, once a vocal critic of Smith agrees.
“All things are political and this is just another example of political, but once it gets into the arena of a courtroom, people forget that it’s political,” she said.
The attorneys will now get to back up their opening statements with witnesses starting Friday morning.
