Laurie Smith was born on June 21,1952 and was the first female county sheriff in the history of California.
16 Facts About Laurie Smith
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Laurie Smith was the 28th sheriff of Santa Clara County, California, serving from 1998 until her early retirement in 2022, before the end of jury deliberations in her civil trial.
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Laurie Smith was found guilty of corruption and willful misconduct.
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Laurie Smith is a native of Michigan, where she lived until completion of high school.
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Laurie Smith is a graduate of the California Command College and of the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute.
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Laurie Smith began her career at the Sheriff's Office in 1973, working as a matron at the Santa Clara County Jail until 1976.
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Laurie Smith then became one of the first female permanent undercover vice cops.
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Laurie Smith next worked in the patrol division, then became a watch commander over the jails.
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In 2010, Metro Silicon Valley credited Laurie Smith with putting the sheriff's office on a sound and efficient basis.
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In 2012, there was controversy over Laurie Smith's assigning a bodyguard to Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr.
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In June 2014 Laurie Smith won election for a fifth term against retired Sheriff's Captain Kevin Jensen, who had been endorsed by the Santa Clara County Deputy Sheriffs' Association and the Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers' Association.
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On June 5,2018, Laurie Smith ran for re-election to her sixth term against five challengers including former undersheriff John Hirokawa and Deputy Joseph LaJeunesse.
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On December 14,2021, Laurie Smith was indicted by a Santa Clara County civil grand jury on seven counts of corruption and misconduct.
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On March 10,2022, Laurie Smith announced that she would retire at the end of her term in January 2023.
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Laurie Smith retired early on October 31,2022, before the end of jury deliberations in her public corruption trial, and filed a motion to have the charges dropped, which was denied.
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Laurie Smith is part of the National Sheriffs' Association, and participates in half a dozen regional and international law enforcement groups as well as a dozen local groups.