Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/orange-county-district-attorney/)
Voters sent mixed messages to Orange County’s scandal-scarred law enforcement agencies Tuesday, with incumbent District Attorney Tony Rackauckas scraping by with a 4 percent lead and a more decisive margin for Undersheriff Donald Barnes, who ended election night more than 20 points ahead in his race to become Sheriff.
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas will face county Supervisor Todd Spitzer in the November general election, with Rackauckas ending election night with a 4.2 percent lead over his competitor.
The State Bar of California has ended a suspension for Lenore Albert-Sheridan, a lawyer running for District Attorney.
Complicated investigations can several take years, but a deadline is looming: the expiration of the three-year statute of limitations on state perjury charges against three Sheriff’s deputies who are accused of lying under oath about their work with informants during testimonies in 2014 and 2015.
The County of Orange will defend the District Attorney and Sheriff’s Department from a lawsuit over the alleged misuse of jailhouse informants, after the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday for the county’s in-house attorneys to defend the lawsuit.
“I think it’s improper for us to talk about, really, that subject matter now,” said supervisors’ Chairman Andrew Do.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Craig Griffin ruled Lenore Albert-Sheridan will remain on the ballot for the June 5 primary election.
The lawsuit claims the District Attorney and Sheriff continue to use informants illegally as part of a long-standing snitch program, despite official claims that the illegal use of informants is the work of a few rogue deputies.
A controversial attorney and candidate for District Attorney, Lenore Albert-Sheridan, currently is suspended from practicing law by the California State Bar. A lawsuit filed last week is attempting to remove her from the June primary election ballot.
Orange County’s top law enforcement jobs could be hotly contested races this year as four candidates, including District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, are running for DA and three contenders want to replace Sandra Hutchens as Sheriff.