Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/aocds/)
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs paid out nearly $50,000 to Voice of OC, the L.A. Times and Southern California Public Radio this past month after deputies lost their bid in court earlier this year to seal deputy misconduct records.
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs has apparently given up on its lawsuit seeking to prevent the public release of deputy misconduct records, a day after OC Superior Court Judge Nathan Scott rejected all of their court arguments against implementation of a new state law, SB 1421, which would allow the public to review select misconduct records about use of force incidents, sexual assaults on members of the public or lying while on duty. A media coalition, led by Voice of OC and including the Los Angeles Times and Southern California Public Radio, successfully went to court last month to oppose the deputy union effort.
Thanks to a decision by OC Superior Court Judge Nathan Scott, the people of Orange County can truly hold their law enforcement agencies accountable by having access to select misconduct records as authorized by state law. Voice of OC led a media coalition including the LA Times and Southern California Public Radio in the legal battle to protect Orange County citizens’ right to public records.
LA Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff is today expected to finalize a tentative ruling against an LA Deputy Sheriff union arguments attempting to block implementation of SB1421, which opens up select police misconduct records for public review. Orange County Superior Court Judge Nathan Scott is expected to rule soon on the same issue here involving a bid by the local deputies union to block public access to similar records. A Voice of OC-led media coalition is opposing that effort in court.
After a ruling against police unions in Contra Costa late last week, Orange County this week could become the second jurisdiction to see a ruling in California over the heated legal battle to implement SB 1421, which opens select police misconduct records for public review.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Nathan Scott ruled Thursday that a media coalition led by Voice of OC, which includes the LA Times and Southern California Public Radio, has the right to intervene in court against a bid by the county deputy sheriff’s union to quash the public release of select police misconduct records.
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs won their bid on Thursday to shield deputy misconduct records from public release after a state law, SB 1421, was enacted that would allow members of the public to see records about use of force incidents, sexual assaults and lying while on duty. The next hearing, where full arguments on the deputy union’s request to permanently seal records is Feb. 7. Voice of OC leads a media coalition including the Los Angeles Times and Southern California Public Radio that is opposing the union request to seal records.
An internal ranking of Sheriff’s Department managers raises serious questions even if Sheriff Sandra Hutchens doesn’t like it’s frank language.
The recent escape from the Santa Ana Jail and the scant offerings for homeless people at the bus terminal show that hard questions should be in store for Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and OC Community Services head Karen Roper.
A hearing is scheduled for Friday morning on whether to ban the release of records sought by conservative publisher Jon Fleischman.