Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is facing lawsuits on several fronts at once. The most active are four cases challenging his February 2026 seizure of more than 650,000 ballots from the county registrar, which the California Supreme Court has now paused. Alongside those, families of inmates who died in county jails have filed more than a dozen wrongful death and civil rights suits, a former jail captain has sued for whistleblower retaliation, a man arrested outside a Trump rally is pursuing defamation claims, and a federal challenge to California’s sanctuary law that Bianco joined was dismissed in December 2025. The Chad Bianco lawsuits below are grouped by subject, with current status for each.
The Ballot Seizure Cases
After the November 2025 vote on Proposition 50, a citizen group called the Riverside County Election Integrity Team told Bianco’s office that the registrar had counted roughly 45,800 more ballots than were received. Registrar Art Tinoco said the group had excluded provisional and other ballot categories from its math and that the real discrepancy was about 103 votes.1Democracy Docket. Behind a Sheriff’s Seizure of Over Half a Million Ballots Bianco opened a criminal investigation anyway. Starting February 9, 2026, his office used three search warrants signed by Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel to seize roughly 1,000 boxes containing more than 650,000 ballots.2CalMatters. Chad Bianco Ballots Seized Riverside
When CalMatters and other outlets petitioned to unseal the warrants in April 2026, the supporting affidavits were found to identify no specific law suspected of having been broken, to lack a signature from the district attorney’s office, and to show no independent verification of the activist group’s data before seizure.3CalMatters. Chad Bianco Election Warrants Judge Kiel had been endorsed by Bianco during his 2022 judicial run and had publicly praised the sheriff, though court officials said Kiel was assigned as duty judge on routine rotation.4Press-Enterprise. Were So Fortunate to Have Chad Bianco Said Judge Who Later Signed Warrants
Attorney General’s Suits
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed two separate challenges. A state appeals court rejected the first on March 24, 2026, on procedural grounds, finding Bonta had not shown he lacked an adequate remedy in the trial court.2CalMatters. Chad Bianco Ballots Seized Riverside Bonta then filed a new action in Riverside County Superior Court on March 26 and petitioned the California Supreme Court on March 27, calling the situation an “unprecedented constitutional emergency” and arguing Bianco was usurping the attorney general’s supervisory authority over local law enforcement.5Riverside Record. Riverside County Bianco Election Investigation Bonta Supreme Court
Cervantes v. Bianco
The UCLA Voting Rights Project filed a petition on behalf of four Riverside County voters asking the California Supreme Court to order the ballots returned. The petition argues sheriff’s deputies are not authorized under the Elections Code to count or handle ballots, that the recount was happening behind closed doors without public observation, and that the seizure broke the legally required chain of custody for election materials.6UCLA Voting Rights Project. Cervantes v. Bianco Petition for Writ of Mandate The Campaign Legal Center filed an amicus brief supporting the petition.7Campaign Legal Center. Defending Against Unlawful Seizure of Ballots Cervantes v. Bianco
Bianco’s attorney, Robert Tyler of Tyler Law LLP, argued that the sheriff has discretionary authority to investigate potential crimes under California’s Government Code, that the warrants were lawfully issued by a neutral judge, and that individual voters lacked standing because they had not shown their specific ballots were compromised.8Democracy Docket. Respondent Sheriff Chad Bianco’s Preliminary Opposition to Petition for Writ of Mandate
Current Status: Supreme Court Stay
On April 8, 2026, the California Supreme Court ordered Bianco to halt his investigation while it reviews the merits and required his office to preserve all seized materials. The court identified three questions it will decide: the scope of the attorney general’s constitutional authority over a county sheriff, whether Bonta is entitled to a writ directing Bianco to comply with his directives, and whether a court can quash a search warrant issued in defiance of the attorney general’s orders.9Horvitz & Levy. Supreme Court Grants Review Stays Investigation in Sheriff Ballot Seizure Case Bianco called the attorney general’s efforts “lawfare orchestrated by political activists.”10Courthouse News Service. California Supreme Court Halts Riverside County Ballot Investigation
On April 14, 2026, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to refuse to pay for Tyler’s services or any outside counsel to defend Bianco in the four ballot-seizure lawsuits. Supervisor Karen Spiegel dissented; Supervisor Jose Medina said the vote reflected the board’s view that Bianco was not acting within the scope of his official duties.11KESQ. County Declines to Pay to Defend Sheriff Bianco in Legal Battles Over Ballot Seizure Investigation
Jail Death and Civil Rights Suits
The county recorded 19 in-custody deaths in 2022, a modern record, followed by at least nine more in the first ten months of 2023.12USA Today. Sheriff Chad Bianco Governor Jail Deaths Lawsuit Whistleblower Families have filed more than a dozen wrongful death lawsuits against Bianco and the county, with several resulting in settlements totaling over $13 million. The largest single payout was $7.5 million in December 2023 to the survivors of Christopher Zumwalt, who died in 2020 after a struggle with deputies trying to extract him from a cell.13Prison Legal News. After Spike in Jail Deaths Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation
Named federal cases include:
- Estate of Kaushal Niroula, a transgender inmate murdered by a cellmate in September 2022; the suit alleges Niroula lay dead in his cell for over an hour before anyone noticed and questions the housing decision that placed him with a violent sex offender.13Prison Legal News. After Spike in Jail Deaths Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation
- Kidd v. Bianco, filed by the mother of Justin Kail, who died of a fentanyl overdose in May 2022; the suit alleges the department should have known detainees were consuming fentanyl at fatal rates.13Prison Legal News. After Spike in Jail Deaths Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation
- Munoz v. Bianco, filed after Ulysses Munoz Ayala was murdered by a cellmate in September 2022, alleging lack of security and supervision.13Prison Legal News. After Spike in Jail Deaths Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation
A broader federal civil rights suit brought by several families accuses Bianco and the county of “deliberately failing to take even modest actions to prevent in-custody deaths.” Plaintiffs’ attorney Denisse Gastelum alleges deputies were performing required safety checks only once or twice per day instead of the mandatory 24 times.14ABC7. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco Jail Deaths Civil Rights Lawsuits Bianco has called many of the suits “frivolous” and blamed inmate drug use and self-harm, saying, “Our deputies and nurses do all they can to prevent inmates from illegally taking drugs that kill them.”15IE Voice. Riverside Sheriff Lawsuit Collection
The Broader Settlement Pattern
A Washington Post investigation found that between 2010 and 2020 Riverside County paid $77 million to settle cases against the sheriff’s department, including $63 million for excessive force and $12 million for false arrests.16KESQ. Riverside County Paid $77M in Settlements for Police Misconduct Report In May 2025, the county paid $1.3 million to settle a suit by Kenneth Ciccarelli, a Wildomar man who alleged deputies used excessive force during a 2019 noise complaint. A jury had voted 11-1 to acquit Ciccarelli of a battery charge the department brought against him, and the charges were later dropped. The sheriff’s department called the settlement “a business decision” that “in no way reflects on the facts of the case.”17R Street Institute. Riverside Sheriff’s Office Disses Juries and County Taxpayers
Whistleblower Suit by Former Jail Captain
In July 2025, Victoria Flores, a former jail captain and 30-year department veteran, filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Riverside against Bianco, Undersheriff Don Sharp, and other officials. Flores alleges she was fired in April 2024 in retaliation for speaking out about inmate abuse and corruption. Her complaint claims Bianco ordered her not to answer questions from a civil grand jury, that supervisors instructed staff to avoid documenting a fentanyl overdose to keep death counts low, and that deputies involved in excessive force were never disciplined. Bianco has publicly disputed “every claim” in the lawsuit.18Corrections1. Calif Jail Commander Alleges She Was Fired for Exposing Jail Abuse Corruption
Vem Miller Defamation Case
Vem Miller was arrested outside a Trump rally in Coachella in October 2024 while carrying firearms. Bianco publicly stated his department had “prevented another assassination attempt,” a characterization the Secret Service and FBI declined to corroborate. Miller sued on October 15, 2024, in U.S. District Court for Nevada, seeking $100 million from Bianco, the sheriff’s department, Riverside County, and a deputy on claims of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.19Politico. Man Arrested Trump Rally Sues California Sheriff
A federal judge dismissed the case on January 5, 2026, finding the search and seizure were based on probable cause, but declined to rule on the state-law defamation claims and dismissed them without prejudice. Miller appealed to the Ninth Circuit on January 9, 2026, and the appeal remains pending.20CourtListener. Vem Miller v. Chad Bianco Miller’s attorney, Ethan Bearman, has refiled the slander and libel claims in Riverside County Superior Court.21Press-Enterprise. Gun Charge Against Man Arrested Outside Trump Rally in Coachella Headed Toward Dismissal
Sanctuary Law Challenge
In May 2025, Bianco joined an existing federal lawsuit filed by America First Legal and the City of Huntington Beach in the Central District of California, challenging California’s sanctuary law (Senate Bill 54). The plaintiffs argued the law is preempted by federal immigration statutes and infringes on local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with ICE.22America First Legal. Department of Justice Files Brief Supporting America First Legal’s Challenge to California’s Illegal Sanctuary Laws On December 1, 2025, Judge Sunshine Sykes dismissed the case without prejudice, ruling the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge state law in federal court. The Ninth Circuit, she wrote, “has consistently held that political subdivisions lack standing to challenge state law on constitutional grounds in federal court.”23California Globe. Huntington Beach Loses Legal Challenge to California’s Sanctuary Law