DOJ Finds Orange County Sheriff, DA Violated Civil Rights Using Illegal Jailhouse Informants After a six-year investigation, the DOJ says Orange County law-enforcement unconstitutionally used jailhouse informants to elicit confessions and incriminating evidence from people for years. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Jerry Iannelli
Orlando Sheriff, Who Is Running for Re-Election, Shot a Teen to Death in 1999 The boy’s mother says Orange County Sheriff John Mina has still never spoken to her after more than 20 years. And in the wake of the George Floyd uprisings, local activists are asking why Mina deserves to keep his job. Jerry Iannelli
A California County’s Sheriff’s Deputies Are Accused Of Mishandling Evidence On a Staggering Scale Deputies in Orange County wrote false reports about their collection and booking of evidence, according to internal audits kept secret for months. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Kamala Harris’s Criminal Justice Record Killed Her Presidential Run Harris’s record as a prosecutor was representative of a politics of the past. The nation has moved on. Lara Bazelon
Orange County Judge Rules That Sheriff’s ‘Blanket’ Shackling Practice Violates Prisoners’ Rights People held in courthouse cells were shackled for up to 15 hours a day, and some were unable to eat, change menstrual pads, or use the bathroom, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
‘A Green Light For Abuse’: Despite Reforms, California Counties Still Conceal Records On Police Use Of Force A lawsuit in Los Angeles and a motion in Orange County highlight battles to get key information. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
When Someone Dies in An Orange County Jail, Who’s Culpable? Advocates say Anthony Aceves’s death conforms with long-standing issues in the second-largest jail system in California. Raven Rakia
‘Do Not Record’ Phone calls between prisoners in Orange County and their lawyers were recorded and accessed. How wide the eavesdropping was remains an open question. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Orange County’s ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ The California county has a thin blue line that appears to protect not just the police, but also the DA’s office, criminal justice advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Is Orange County D.A. Candidate Sending Mixed Signals on Jail Phone Company’s Contract? Todd Spitzer blasted Global Tel Link for recording attorney-client phone calls, but his campaign won’t call on a PAC supporting his candidacy to return the company’s lobbyist’s donation. George Joseph