County residents are showing up to courtrooms to watch criminal case hearings and keep an eye out for misconduct, like prosecutors failing to hand over evidence that could help defendants.
Tag: Orange County Superior Court
The Orange County Superior Court is where much of our accountability reporting ends up, in filings and rulings rather than press releases. Cases against cities, open-meeting law, public records fights and the decisions that bind local government.
Posted inCountywide, Economy, Government, News Briefs, Top Stories
Wrongful Termination Suit by Former Assessor’s Office Staffers Headed for Trial
The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court by two longtime employees in the county Assessor’s Office, alleges they were fired for reporting numerous illegal acts within the agency, is likely to head to a jury trial in October.
Posted inGovernment, News Briefs, Top Stories
Nelson No Longer a Candidate in Judicial Race
County Supervisor Shawn Nelson, who surprised many in February by filing paperwork to run for a Superior Court judgeship, is no longer a candidate in the June primary.
Posted inCountywide, Top Stories
Fountain Valley Man Pleads Guilty to Political Money Laundering for Janet Nguyen
Son Truong Nguyen was convicted and sentenced Friday afternoon for laundering $13,300 in campaign contributions for Republican State Sen. Janet Nguyen’s 2012 campaign for county supervisor.
Posted inGovernment, Investigative, Top Stories
Supervisors Discuss Possibility of Feds Investigating Jailhouse Informants Scandal
Supervisors Tuesday discussed in closed session the possibility of the U.S. Justice Department investigating alleged misconduct by prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies involving evidence gleaned from jailhouse informants.
Posted inCorrections, News Briefs, Santa Ana
Court Hearing on Pot Shop Raid Video Continued to Aug. 13
A court hearing to consider a temporary restraining order on a video showing Santa Ana police officers misbehaving during a raid of a marijuana dispensary was continued to next Thursday to give attorneys for the city of Santa Ana more time to respond.
Posted inNews Briefs
In Rare Move, County Prosecutor Runs Against Sitting Judge
The upcoming re-election of a Superior Court judge has taken an uncommon twist, after a county prosecutor jumped into the race – and picked up a major endorsement from her colleagues.
Posted inCosta Mesa, Countywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Public Defender Alleges Improprieties by Sheriff’s Deputies, TV Producers
Attorneys for admitted double murderer Daniel Patrick Wozniak say deputies and producers of MSNBC show violated his rights.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Legal Experts Call for Independent Probe of DA Actions in Dekraai Case
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.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Top Stories
Defense Attorneys Cry Foul on Supervisors’ Demand That Judge Resign
Attorneys publicly accused supervisors of trying to hijack the judicial process with their high-profile attacks on a judge who reduced the sentence of a 19-year-old man convicted of sodomizing a toddler.
