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.
Tag: Orange County Sheriffs Department
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Feds Test Rodney King Law With Jail Informants Investigation
The U.S. Department of Justice investigation marks the first time the 1994 law, which historically has been used against police departments, is being directed at a prosecution agency for constitutional rights violations in criminal cases.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Dekraai Judge Threatens O.C. Sheriff With Contempt Hearing
Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals said Friday that Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is close to contempt of court for how her department has responded to repeated requests for records related to the use of jailhouse informants.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Feds Announce Investigation Into Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
The U.S. Justice Department probe will center on how DA prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies illegally gleaned information from jailhouse informants and violated defendants’ rights by not disclosing that information to their attorneys.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Sheriff’s Records Shed New Light on OC’s Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
Nearly 250 pages of notes documenting a secret jailhouse informant network run by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department were released Monday, providing an unvarnished view of how snitches were utilized in violations of defendants’ rights.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Appellate Court Upholds Ruling That Barred DA’s Office From Dekraai Case
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.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Public Defender Harshly Criticizes Prosecutors, Judge in Wozniak Case
In a 185-page motion, Scott Sanders, who represents convicted double-murderer Daniel Patrick Wozniak, argues his client’s looming death sentence should be blocked because of error by the prosecution team and bias by the judge.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Dekraai Attorney Opens New Front in Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
Scott Sanders, the public defender who exposed the county’s jailhouse snitch operation, is now alleging in a letter that sheriff’s deputies surreptitiously eavesdropped on a constitutionally protected conversation he had with mass-murderer Scott Evans Dekraaai in jail.
Posted inGovernment, Safety, Security & Justice, Top Stories, Transportation
State Snafu Leads to Cuts in Projected Funding for OC Law Enforcement
An audit found that the state Board of Equalization has been over-allocating sales tax revenue to counties, which means Orange County officials have to scale back recommendations on how many sheriff and district attorney’s office jobs to add next fiscal year.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
DA Says Records Contradict Sheriff Deputy Testimony in Snitch Case
Recently disclosed Orange County sheriff’s deputies records refute previous testimony in the case against mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai, according to court documents filed Thursday by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas’ team.
