A “rogue” worker at Orange County’s courthouse branch in Westminster may have tampered with hundreds of misdemeanor cases like traffic violations or drunk driving citations, according to the OC Weekly.
An individual in the court, who asked not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak, confirmed to Voice of OC “there definitely was a discussion” of the problem Friday morning in the West Orange County Municipal courtroom of Judge Thomas Borris.
According to the Weekly, Borris told lawyers and defendants in his courtroom the court would audit “hundreds” of cases to correct errors.
“We’re definitely trying to find out” the source of the problem referenced by the judge, another person told Voice of OC. Court employees said they were warned media would be asking questions at the courthouse Friday but were not told why.
The Weekly reported lawyers and defendants in Borris’ court were questioned about “errors” like attorneys being wrongly listed as representing a client.
Borris asked an attorney if a private jail was ordered for a client and was told no such request was made, according to the post. To a female defendant, he asked them if they had served the jail time that the docket said they had. The woman told Judge Borris she had indeed. Judge Borris instructed the court to call the jail to see if they had indeed served the time; The defendant had not, and the woman was immediately remanded into custody.
“And as people left the courtroom, FBI agents asked nearly everyone to talk to them and see what they knew about their cases and the scandal in general.”