Bill Would Separate Gates’ Dual Offices : Ferguson Moves in State Assembly to Divide Functions of Sheriff, Coroner

SACRAMENTO--Brad Gates, under siege on several fronts for his dual role as Orange County sheriff and coroner, would see those offices separated in 1987 under legislation introduced Thursday by freshman Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach).

Keeping a campaign promise that is certain to fuel an already-brewing controversy, Ferguson introduced a bill that would force separation of the functions--except in small counties--when terms of dual officeholders expire.

The sheriff and coroner posts are now held by the same person in 35 of the state’s 58 counties, but most of those counties have populations under 200,000 and would be exempt under Ferguson’s bill. In Orange County the offices have been combined since 1970.

Impact Unknown

Neither Ferguson nor his staff knew precisely how many counties besides Orange would be forced to create separate offices at the end of the current officeholder’s term. The bill is the first legislation introduced by Ferguson, who was elected last November.

Gates, who has been Orange County sheriff since 1975, has said that he would not run for a fourth term. But more recently he has been vague about his political intentions. Gates or his successor is scheduled to begin a new term in January, 1987, following the June, 1986, primaries and the general election the following November.

At the request of the Board of Supervisors, the Orange County Grand Jury is studying whether there is an inherent conflict of interest when the coroner looks into deaths at county jails or involving sheriff’s deputies. Supervisors also ordered a separate study by the county administrative office.

Will Press Ahead

Ferguson said the outcome of those studies will not deter his efforts to have the bill enacted.

While the same questions have been asked since the two offices were first combined in 1970 after a dispute between county supervisors and then-Coroner Raymond Brandt, the controversy has intensified since an apparent jail suicide last November.

After John Stephenson bled to death in an Orange County Jail cell, county mental health officials sought to deny Gates access to his psychiatric records. Shortly afterward, presiding Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Beacom called for separation of the two offices and criticized the handling of an unrelated investigation regarding an East Tustin woman who had been shot to death by a sheriff’s deputy.

Former Sheriff James Musick, the first in Orange County to hold the dual role, publicly disagreed with the county supervisors’ decision to combine the offices.

But Gates has been a staunch defender of the present system, and has angrily lashed out at critics of the concept. He made no exception for Ferguson.

“I’m getting awful tired of people criticizing the operation when they don’t know anything about it,” Gates said.

“I find it objectionable that an individual like Mr. Ferguson would introduce a bill to change the way government functions when he has never been inside the facility and never discussed the decision with me.”

Gates said a system of “checks and balances,” including participation “from start to finish” by the district attorney’s office and a review by a grand jury committee, adequately guards against any conflicts.

While he acknowledged that the public may perceive an inherent conflict in the dual role, Gates said that perception persists mainly because of uninformed criticisms.

“It’s people like Mr. Ferguson who talk about it when they don’t know what they are talking about,” Gates said.

Ferguson, who characterized himself as a friend and supporter of law enforcement, said his proposed reform is not a personal attack on Gates.

“He takes it personally, but . . . this is not aimed at him at all,” Ferguson said. ‘It is the appearance of a conflict that erodes public confidence in justice.”

Longtime Critic

Ferguson said he spoke out against the dual role 14 years ago when Orange County first combined the offices.

Gates noted that the current grand jury is not the first to examine the questions. While two grand juries before he took office were critical of the combined offices, he noted that several have more recently concluded the dual role creates no problems.

In 1977, a county grand jury recommended that the district attorney’s office participate in the investigation of all jail deaths, or any deaths involving police personnel, to guard against conflicts. In contrast, the 1979-80 grand jury, concentrating on government economy, endorsed the combined offices, saying administrative costs would increase if they were separated.

Ferguson said he wrote his bill to exempt small counties for economic reasons. But the bill would require that boards of supervisors in those counties hire independent pathologists to investigate the death of any person who dies while in custody and all deaths in which law enforcement officials are involved.