Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/kamala-d-harris/)
The California Attorney General ended its probe into the jailhouse snitch scandal that rocked the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s office, which was first uncovered in a mass murderer’s trial over four years ago.
Nearly four years ago, a Superior Court judge requested that the Orange County district attorney’s office turn over a large cache of records having to do with jailhouse snitches. The fallout from that request continues today.
Worried that federal immigration authorities could exploit a controversial statewide gang database, California’s outgoing Attorney General Kamala D. Harris wants lawmakers to give the state Department of Justice full control over the database.
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.
In a scathing report, independent legal authorities evaluating the jailhouse informants scandal found District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ office has a “win at all costs” mentality and is in need of a substantial reorganization.
Legal scholars, including UCI Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, say conflicts prevent the attorney general’s office from adequately investigating prosecutorial misconduct in the case.
Announcement of investigation comes after state Attorney General Kamala Harris said she will appeal judge’s decision to recuse entire DA’s office from case.
The Orange County Probation Department is one of many agencies nationwide that has ended its practice of complying with federal immigration detainers after a federal court ruled them unconstitutional.
The state attorney general’s office dropped the Fair Board as a client in 2009 during the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to sell the fairground.