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.
Tag: Thomas Goethals
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, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Grand Jury Latest to Launch Probe of Jailhouse Snitch Scandal
The county grand jury is investigating alleged illegal conduct by prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies relating to an informants network inside county jails. Grand jurors are being aided by a former United States attorney.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, News Briefs, Top Stories
Appellate Court Hears Arguments in DA Recusal Case
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.
Posted inCountywide, Investigative, Top Stories
Wozniak Sentenced to Death for Double Murder
Daniel Patrick Wozniak’s sentence for killing Samuel E. Herr and Juri “Julie” Kibuishi in 2010 was handed down Friday by Superior Court Judge John D. Conley.
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
With Death Sentence Looming, Judge Keeps Defense Motion Sealed in Wozniak Case
For nearly two weeks, Superior Court Judge John D. Conley has refused to unseal a motion filed by the public defender for Daniel Patrick Wozniak, which represents the double murderer’s last-ditch effort to avoid the death penalty.
Posted inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Judge: More Jail Informant Records Hidden by O.C. Sheriff’s Deputies
Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals said Friday that a “significant amount” of recently uncovered informant evidence should have been provided years ago to public defenders for convicted mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai.
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 inCountywide, Government, Investigative, Top Stories
Appellate Court: OK for DA to Disqualify Goethals
The 4th District Court of Appeal upheld the right of the DA’s office to disqualify the Superior Court judge presiding over the jailhouse snitch case from other murder cases, but described prosecutors’ actions as an “extraordinary abuse” of the procedure.
