Across California, counties are jockeying for a share of $34.4 million in competitive state grants aimed at providing services for drug offenders released from state prisons under Proposition 47. But with the grant deadline just days away, OC appears to be behind the curve.
Author Archives: REX DALTON
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Deal for New County Law Enforcement Watchdog Nixed
A plan by Orange County supervisors to hire a former state prosecutor to be the director of the county’s Office of Independent Review has been scuttled. Supervisors apparently jumped gun on announcing the deal, and now are back to square one in their search.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Judge in Snitch Case Again Rebukes Sheriff for Records Issues
Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals Friday ordered Sheriff Sandra Hutchens to retain all relevant jail informant records after disclosures that the county Board of Supervisors had at one point approved a policy allowing such records to be destroyed.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Feds Test Rodney King Law With Jail Informants Investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice investigation marks the first time the 1994 law, which historically has been used against police departments, is being directed at a prosecution agency for constitutional rights violations in criminal cases.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Feds Announce Investigation Into Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
The U.S. Justice Department probe will center on how DA prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies illegally gleaned information from jailhouse informants and violated defendants’ rights by not disclosing that information to their attorneys.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Sheriff’s Records Shed New Light on OC’s Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
Nearly 250 pages of notes documenting a secret jailhouse informant network run by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department were released Monday, providing an unvarnished view of how snitches were utilized in violations of defendants’ rights.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Appellate Court Upholds Ruling That Barred DA’s Office From Dekraai Case
The 4th District Court of Appeal unanimously supported the 2015 ruling by Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals that removed District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ team from the case after evidence violations involving jailhouse informants.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories
Local Figures Loom Large in Death Penalty Ballot Measure
While Proposition 62, which would outlaw the death penalty in California, has received the most attention this election year, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and local billionaire Henry Nicholas are championing a competing measure aimed at speeding up executions.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
Appellate Court Hears Arguments in DA Recusal Case
The 4th District Court of Appeal heard arguments Monday on a judge’s order barring Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ office from prosecuting mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Wozniak Sentenced to Death for Double Murder
Daniel Patrick Wozniak’s sentence for killing Samuel E. Herr and Juri “Julie” Kibuishi in 2010 was handed down Friday by Superior Court Judge John D. Conley.
