Former sheriff Corpus says county should pay her legal fees

BY NORAH SHEPPARD-HUTCHINS · Daily Post Staff Writer

Former San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus has filed a claim against the county, saying it should have paid her legal fees in two lawsuits filed against her by a deputy and a former assistant. Corpus claims the county has a legal obligation to pay for her attorney’s fees because the alleged incidents occurred during her employment with the sheriff’s office. The county stopped paying for Corpus’ defense after she was fired by the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 14, 2025. Corpus wants reimbursement for defense fees and expenses in the Carlos Tapia and Valerie Barnes lawsuits, Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the San Francisco-based law firm, Quadra and Coll LLP, said in a statement yesterday. “Officials cannot turn their hostility toward a former sheriff into a lawful basis for forcing her to personally finance the defense of claims arising from her public service,” said one of Corpus’ various attorneys, James Quadra.

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