LOS ANGELES—A judge has said she will comply with a state appellate court ruling that former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva does not have to face a contempt hearing for allegedly ignoring three subpoenas in 2021 to testify before the Civilian Oversight Commission (COC), despite the county’s argument the door to a contempt proceeding was not fully closed.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elaine Lu issued her ruling Oct. 13, less than a month after a three-justice panel of the Second District Court of Appeal issued an order Sept. 21 directing Judge Lu to vacate her decision last November granting the county’s contempt petition and instead deny it without prejudice. Mr. Villanueva had sought appellate review of the earlier ruling by Judge Lu.
