San Mateo County has hired a former Alameda County Superior Court judge to conduct an independent investigation into the handling of the raid of an Indiana specialty car shop by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies involving a custom Batmobile. The county has hired Winifred Smith, who spent 21 years as a judge and 26 years as deputy attorney general in California. Don Horsley, president of the Board of Supervisors said the county picked someone who had no connection to the board or the Sheriff’s Office to avoid conflicts of interest and to reassure residents.