Sheriff Smith making herself inaccessible to reporters comes amid criticism that she’s also disengaged from constituents.

Decades-old claims of sexual harassment and abuse of power have come back to haunt Sheriff Laurie Smith.

The man convicted of killing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Obtaining court documents in Santa Clara County requires the public to pay 50 cents per page copied—the reason isn’t just money or privacy.

George Shirakawa Jr.’s next day in court got kicked back six months to Sept. 15, meaning the ex-county supervisor could be nearly four months out of jail before his political mail fraud trial begins. That may or may not be a good thing for other people involved in the case.

The frequency of posts by the Mercury News' new political blog has been herky-jerky, but that isn’t the only aspect of the gossip site that’s missed a beat.