An Orange County Superior Court judge has overturned a man’s conviction for a 2006 murder in Santa Ana, ruling that the prosecution team violated the man’s constitutional rights in using a jailhouse informant to win a confession.
Tag: Thomas Goethals
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
Wozniak Judge Refuses to Hold Hearing on Informants
Judge John D. Conley wrote that public defenders for accused murderer Daniel Patrick Wozniak had failed to show “outrageous government misconduct” involving a jail informant.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
New York Times Calls for Federal Investigation of OC District Attorney’s Office
The Times’ editorial board did not pull any punches, describing the actions of prosecutors as “blatant and systematic misconduct” and calling on the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
Prosecutor Accused of False Testimony Resigns
Erik S. Petersen, a lead prosecutor in major gang cases, was accused of false testimony during a hearing in the Scott Evans Dekraai case.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
County Counsel’s Office Knew About Secret Inmate Tracking System
In the latest revelation stemming from the jailhouse informants scandal, a court transcript shows that the Orange County Counsel’s office has known for at least a decade about “TRED,” a secret system that tracks the location of jail inmates and allowed sheriff’s deputies to strategically place informants.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
DA Announces Committee to Examine Prosecutorial Misconduct
District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has empaneled a committee of five independent attorneys to examine his office’s controversial, and at-times, illegal use of jailhouse informants.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Lights, Camera, Action! Inside OC’s Jails
Orange County Sheriff’s Department manipulated the media, but the tactic has led to allegations that rights of jailed inmates were violated.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Legal Experts Call for Independent Probe of DA Actions in Dekraai Case
Legal scholars, including UCI Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, say conflicts prevent the attorney general’s office from adequately investigating prosecutorial misconduct in the case.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
Local Bar Association Slams DA for Avoiding Judge’s Courtroom
The Orange County Bar Association weighs in on reports that the District Attorney’s Office has systematically steered cases away from Thomas Goethals since he convened a hearing on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Health & Wellness, Investigative, Top Stories
State AG Will Investigate Alleged DA Misconduct in Dekraai Case
Announcement of investigation comes after state Attorney General Kamala Harris said she will appeal judge’s decision to recuse entire DA’s office from case.
