4th District Court of Appeal Archives

Fire Evacuation Issues Force County Re-Do of 340-Home Development

By Nick Gerda and Kassidy Dillon | August 1, 2018

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

By REX DALTON | November 23, 2016

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

By REX DALTON | October 17, 2016

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

By REX DALTON | July 26, 2016

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

Healthy Communities

By REX DALTON | April 3, 2014

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

By TRACY WOOD | October 8, 2013

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.