Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Alleging OC Sheriff, Prosecutors Illegally Use Informants
Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
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The court’s focus will be whether the informant program is ongoing and whether it is illegal, the appeals justices wrote.
Fire Evacuation Issues Force County Re-Do of 340-Home Development
Esperanza Hills
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An appeals court blocked the Esperanza Hills project because supervisors approved it without minimum evacuation standards.
Appellate Court Upholds Ruling That Barred DA’s Office From Dekraai Case
Countywide
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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.
Appellate Court Hears Arguments in DA Recusal Case
County Government
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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.
Appellate Court: OK for DA to Disqualify Goethals
Countywide
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The 4th District Court of Appeal upheld the right of the DA’s office to disqualify the Superior Court judge presiding over the jailhouse snitch case from other murder cases, but described prosecutors’ actions as an “extraordinary abuse” of the procedure.
Controversy Follows UC Irvine Scientist’s Brain Scan Testimony
Irvine
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For decades, Dr. Joseph Wu has used UCI’s PET brain imaging technology as the basis of his forensic diagnoses in murder cases. Wu’s testimony has a dubious reputation among experts in the field, with one calling it “hokum.”
VOC Asks State Supreme Court to Hear Public Records Case
Countywide
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Voice of OC filed suit after county officials refused to release records regarding officials’ actions leading up to Carlos Bustamante’s arrest on sex crimes. The open-government advocacy group Californians Aware has joined the suit.
Judge Denies Voice of OC Request for Bustamante Records
Government
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The documents could shed light on what top county officials knew when they allowed former executive Carlos Bustamante to quietly resign.
Brown Names Three From Orange County to Judicial Posts
Government
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The judges will fill slots on the 4th District Court of Appeal and Orange County Superior Court.
State Supreme Court Rejects One Broadway Plaza Case
Countywide
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The decision to reject activists’ lawsuit means developer Mike Harrah has cleared the final legal hurdle to build a 37-story tower in Santa Ana.