A California judge Friday put Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on his heels in his running power struggle with county officials, upholding the authority of an oversight commission to compel the sheriff to answer questions about how he runs the department. The judge’s ruling delivered a potent victory to county officials who have accused the sheriff of rebuffing calls for transparency and efforts to hold him accountable. Gavin Newsom gave the right to subpoena to oversight bodies statewide when he signed Assembly Bill 1185 into law. In a statement after Friday’s hearing, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman criticized the inspector general’s “heavy-handed” approach of issuing a subpoena. AdvertisementThe inspector general, Max Huntsman, reports to the Board of Supervisors and the oversight commission.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 20, 2020 21:26 UTC