As San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder remains on a mental health leave from the Board of Supervisors, her office is reportedly at the center of an investigation into the leak of a confidential memo from the City Attorney's Office.

The memo, which Mission Local reported on in early February, pertained to a controversial new sobering center that has been championed by Mayor Daniel Lurie. It's called the RESET Center (Rapid enforcement, support, evaluation and triage center), and it was approved by the board in a 9-2 vote in February — with supervisors Jackie Fielder and Connie Chan dissenting — for a 26-month pilot program.

The City Attorney's Office reportedly wrote the memo cautioning the mayor and the board that the concept of the sobering center put the city at "very high legal risk," because it may not meet the requirements of a "detention facility," and therefore holding individuals there against their will could be legally dubious.

The memo noted that the Sheriff's Department was not planning to physically restrain individuals at the center or put them in cells, but would be telling them that they were not exactly free to leave because they'd be subject to jail or a hospital stay until they sobered up.

The memo was reportedly leaked to Mission Local the same day that the board took its vote on the RESET Center.

As the Chronicle reports today, the City Attorney's Office was not pleased that this memo was leaked to Mission Local, and the "city attorney’s leak investigation [has] closed in on Fielder’s office" as the likely source of the leak.

When Supervisor Fielder stopped attending board meetings last month, this investigation was reportedly ongoing — and this may explain why staffer Feng Han, one of Fielder's four aides, left the office last month, either from firing or resignation. Han told the Chronicle the departure was "for personal reasons."

Sasha Gaona, Fielder's chief of staff, issued a statement to the Chronicle Friday denying that anyone in Fielder's office had leaked the memo, saying, "As has been reported, the City Attorney’s Office is currently conducting an investigation and we are unable to provide further comment at this time."

City Attorney David Chiu penned a letter to the Board of Supervisors on February 13, following the memo leak, saying that such leaks put the city in legal jeopardy because disclosing confidential advice can "potentially lead to costly litigation" for the city, and make it harder to defend itself. This also implies that the sobering center project itself could be in some jeopardy because of the leak.

The stern letter also suggested that whoever was responsible for the leak to Mission Local "may face significant penalties including termination of employment or removal from office."

It remains unclear if there is any link between this investigation and Fielder's decision to step back from her duties in mid-March. That disappearance from board meetings was followed by her announcement last week, apparently from a hospital bed, that she was considering resigning from the board. On Sunday, Fielder retracted that and clarified that she was only taking a leave of absence from the board "while navigating a mental health condition."

Supporters, as well as fellow board members, were quick to express their support for Fielder in her recovery.

Her office reiterated to the Chronicle today that they would prefer the press did not "report on unsubstantiated rumors."

Previously: Jackie Fielder to Take Leave of Absence, Citing Mental Health, Doesn’t Intend to Resign