Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Your situation sounds very complicated, and I realize you've only been able to tell us a fraction of the story. You should discuss your case in detail with a lawyer. The limited guidance we can offer on this site is no substitute for an actual consultation. A lawyer with more information about what happened might see things very differently than she would based solely on your question.

Please note that, after nine years, statutes of limitations may be a very serious problem for you. There are a number of reasons why they might not be, but I can't tell whether any of those reasons are present here. It's also quite possible that some of your claims are quite a bit less than nine years old.

Why do you believe you were the only one entitled to your father's trust documents -- or even that you were entitled to them at all? You may be right, but it's not clear that you are. Even if you were entitled to them at some point, you might not be entitled to them now.

Who is the "stranger" who got the papers? What makes you believe he "has nothing to do with [your] father?" There's probably a reason why the lawyer gave him the papers. Do you know what it was? Lawyers seldom hand over papers arbitrarily. The reasons in this instance might not be very good, but they could turn out to be perfectly valid.

If you want a court to order the stranger to give you the documents, you will have to sue him and prove you're entitled to them. You seem to believe there is a simpler procedure available. But unless your father's probate case is still open, there probably isn't.

Whether the lawyer or the stranger committed a crime when the papers were handed over will depend on the facts. It doesn't seem likely based on the limited info you've provided, but it's possible. And, as I've already explained, even if it was a crime the statute of limitations on it may already have run.

You're free to discuss this with your local District Attorney but, if possible, you should first get the advice of a competent lawyer to reduce the risk that something you tell the D.A. will later come back to haunt you, even in a civil case. You should do likewise before you approach your sheriff, though the sheriff is less likely to get involved even if there has been a crime and even if there is still time to bring charges.

You're also free to contact me directly if you want to discuss your situation in a bit more detail.