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 Oct 13, 2022
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 Feb 27, 2020
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 Jul 10, 2019
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 Oct 16, 2018
Orange County DA retaliated against subordinate, new claim alleges
Embattled Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas has another scandal on his hands. A veteran prosecutor, Karen Schatzle, has filed a claim against Rackauckas’ office after the district attorney allegedly retaliated against her when she chose to unsuccessfully run against an incumbent superior court judge. Schatzle is seeking $5 million in damages. Schatzle claims she was […]
Larry Hannan Sep 01, 2017
Death penalty taken off table for killer due to prosecutor and sheriff misconduct
A California judge has taken the death penalty off the table for Scott Dekraai after finding that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department engaged in “chronic” corruption. On Friday, Superior Court Judge Thomas M. Goethals said Dekraai could not face the death penalty due to the repeated misconduct by both D.A. Tony Rackauckas’s office and […]
Larry Hannan Aug 21, 2017
California prosecutor declines to charge police officer who shot unarmed teenager
Embattled Orange County Prosecutor Tony Rackauckas will not prosecute a police officer who shot an unarmed 18-year-old. Rackauckas announced in a letter last month that there’s insufficient evidence that Santa Ana Detective David Prewett committed a crime in the January shooting of Steve Salgado. This is the second time Prewett has been cleared in a fatal shooting […]
Larry Hannan Aug 14, 2017