The budget request summary contained in the July 2025 report said the Clearlake Courthouse project will renovate approximately 8,500 square feet of the existing building, constructed in 1974, and will include secure parking for judicial officers.

(Subscription required) A unanimous California Supreme Court ruled that county-created sheriff oversight entities have the authority to subpoena records when investigating complaints, affirming Sonoma County's civilian oversight office and strengthening similar agencies' investigative powers statewide.

This week, the state's highest court chose not to review an appeal from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and a deputy labor group. The decision leaves in place a March appeals court ruling that gives IOLERO, Sonoma County's Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach, the ability to investigate whistleblower complaints.

(Subscription required) The legislatively mandated audit also found no one at the bar can remember who decided to ask a testing analysis vendor, ACS Ventures, to write test questions. Some of those questions were generated by artificial intelligence.