Proceedings in the criminal trial of Mendocino County’s suspended auditor could be delayed indefinitely while attorneys review thousands of internal administrative emails once believed to be inaccessible.
The emails need to be reviewed to determine which, if any, are relevant to Chamise Cubbison case in Mendocino County Superior Court, where prosecutors have charged her with misappropriation of public funds.
She and co-defendant Paula Kennedy, a former Mendocino County payroll manager, are each charged with misappropriating $68,106 in public funds.
Cubbison’s defense attorney, Chris Andrian, filed a motion on Tuesday to reschedule her preliminary hearing, which had been set for Thursday. He wrote his “best-case scenario” was receiving 1,358 emails this past week and having two days to review them before the hearing.
“In light of the events that have occurred and are chronicled in this motion and attachments, how can it be reasonably trusted that what counsel may be provided is complete, untainted and not in some way compromised to the detriment of defendant Cubbison?” Andrian wrote.
Mendocino County judge Ann Moorman ruled in favor of putting off the preliminary hearing. She told The Press Democrat proceedings would continue this month for attorneys to discuss the matter.
According to court records related to the case, the archive issue arose in June 2020 when Mendocino County changed the system it used to store emails.
Information technology staff discovered in June 2023 the previous system, Unlimited Mailbox, had been corrupted and officials could not access archived emails from before June 2020.
Investigators say the misappropriation of funds took place between Oct. 1, 2019, and Aug. 31, 2022.
According to court records, defense attorneys filed subpoenas for emails involving people in the case and were told they were inaccessible or didn’t exist due to the technical issue.
The criminal case is being handled by Special Prosecutor Traci Carrillo, who the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office appointed in March.
In a letter dated July 15 to the Mendocino County Counsel, Carrillo wrote she interviewed a county IT manager who told her emails from before 2020 didn’t exist.
Afterward, she approached Mendocino County sheriff’s investigators to see if they preserved any emails from the original investigation and learned they’ve had access to the full archives since 2022.
Attorneys also discovered email accounts for Cubbison and Kennedy had been set aside prior to the system corruption and were accessible. It’s unknown who set aside the accounts, Andrian wrote in his motion.
Carrillo wrote that defense attorneys and investigators managed to access 181,525 emails in early July and, using specific search criteria, tagged 1,358 as potentially relevant to the case.
“As I have not yet reviewed the emails, it is not even clear to me if the emails have any relevancy to this case whatsoever,” Carrillo wrote. “But the problem now exists that a county official declared they did not exist when they clearly do.”
Both defendants are out of custody. Cubbison and Kennedy, who is represented by the Public Defender’s Office, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Charges were filed in October 2023 and the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors suspended Cubbison shortly after.
Attention fell on a strained relationship between Cubbison and Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster.
The history stems from conflicts over county financial reimbursements and Eyster’s opposition to Cubbison being named auditor when the position became open in September 2021. He alleged at the time that she was unqualified.
She was assistant auditor-controller when, according to the recusal motion, she refused to use public asset forfeiture funds to reimburse the District Attorney’s Office for office holiday parties at Broiler Steak House in 2018 and 2019.
In September 2021, then-Auditor-Controller Lloyd Weer announced his retirement and suggested his position be filled by Cubbison, then the assistant auditor-controller.
Andrian singled out Weer as a “percipient witness” — someone with personal knowledge of evidence — and stressed in his motion it’s necessary to see any email correspondence between him and the defendants.
Cubbison was first appointed by the Board of Supervisors to fill a vacancy in the elected auditor-controller post. In June 2022, she ran unopposed and was elected to the role, while also assuming the treasurer-tax collector role after the positions were consolidated.
Andrian in court filings referenced other disputes between her office and Eyster’s that involved travel reimbursements.
He added his client is concerned Eyster’s dislike of her has influenced the 11 other prosecutors who make up the office.
Eyster said in related court documents the investigation into the embezzlement began with county officials who later notified him of what they found.
He suggested they reach out to the Sheriff’s Office for a criminal investigation and charges were only filed after Sheriff’s investigators submitted findings.
Given their contentious history, Cubbison contended Eyster was biased against her and filed a motion in November to request his removal from the case.
The California Attorney General’s Office investigated the matter but, according to an opinion issued Dec. 12, Cubbison had not provided sufficient evidence of a conflict.
A Mendocino County judge also ruled against a defense motion for Eyster to recuse himself.
Nonetheless, Eyster appointed Carrillo as a special counsel.
You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi
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