Big Players Spar in Minor O.C. Case

At first blush, it seems little more than a low-level court case in which a ranking cop is accused of hustling illegal campaign donations for her boss, Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona.

But behind the scenes, the case against Capt. Christine Murray is mushrooming into a clash featuring some of Orange County’s most powerful figures.

Murray is accused of asking 16 fellow employees to donate money to Carona’s reelection bid -- misdemeanors, if true.

Murray’s attorney, in an effort to have her case tossed out of court, this week may call to the witness stand the sheriff, the district attorney and the chief of the deputies union. Also on the witness list are several ranking law enforcement officials and prosecutors, not to mention the county’s top political watchdog, Shirley L. Grindle.

The state attorney general’s office, which is handling the case to avoid any conflict, has subpoenaed Carona’s chief political advisor, Michael J. Schroeder, to ask him -- among other things -- about an incriminating statement that appeared in the Orange County Register.

Schroeder, who is also an advisor to Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas and once was chairman of the state Republican Party, has asked the court to throw out the subpoena.

The fight over the subpoena is by far the most colorful sideshow in the case in which Schroeder and the state’s lead prosecutor, Senior Assistant Atty. Gen. Gary W. Schons, have attacked each other with venom.

The state’s prosecutor contends that Schroeder is trying to cover up Murray’s wrongdoing and is trying to duck his responsibility to testify. Schroeder is not charged in the case.

Schroeder, in turn, filed a motion to quash the subpoena, arguing that Schons was overzealous and had a vendetta against him and his wife, who is the spokeswoman for the district attorney. Schroeder also contends that testifying would be a “gross” violation of his duties and responsibilities as a legal advisor to the sheriff.

In the latest salvo, Schons filed a blistering response in which he quoted from the 1974 case United States vs. Nixon and took a jab at Schroeder for making claims in his legal brief that Schons said were irrelevant, such as Schroeder describing himself as “a respected Orange County attorney and businessman.”

“The public has a right to every man’s evidence,” the brief opens, citing a quote by noted British legal scholar Dean Wigmore that is revived in the Nixon decision.

Schons said he needed Schroeder on the witness stand to explain a quote in the Register in which he all but admitted Murray had broken the law.

The Murray case dates to early last year, when an internal investigation found that the captain had improperly downloaded an employee list with home addresses and telephone numbers from a computer in the sheriff’s executive office and used the information to solicit contributions, according to court papers.

The attorney general agreed to investigate because of the potential conflict of interest created by Schroeder’s dual roles as an advisor to Carona and Rackauckas; the district attorney typically prosecutes crimes in Orange County. Murray was eventually charged with 16 counts of illegal campaign solicitation.

Aside from Schroeder’s testimony related to his statements to the press, Schons provides other examples of “relevant, nonprivileged testimony” he will seek from Schroeder, including “the fact of his dual relationship” with Carona and Rackauckas and his role and possibly Murray’s role with the sheriff’s reelection effort, “which is at the heart of this case.”

Schons argues Schroeder can also testify about a declaration he provided to Murray months into the criminal investigation. In the affidavit, Schroeder contends he realized that he was misquoted by the Register “as soon as he read the story” yet took no corrective action even though “he is a sophisticated political operative who regularly contacts newspapers to criticize and correct stories regarding him and his clients,” Schons wrote.

“This suspicious circumstance was one of the factors in the prosecutor’s calculation leading to the filing of charges in this case,” Schons wrote.

Schroeder said Schoens’ arguments were baseless. Schons “admits he has absolutely no idea whether I have any knowledge of any evidence that is relevant to this matter,” Schroeder said. Further, Schroeder said, Schons concedes there’s “not a shred of evidence to back up his claims that I was in any way involved in any kind of conspiracy or collusion with Capt. Murray.”

The hearing is scheduled for Friday and will be heard by a Los Angeles County judge. All of the jurists in Orange County were disqualified because of the potential for conflict.