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On December 15, 2016, the DOJ opened this investigation pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, 42 U.S.C. 14141, into the patterns and practices of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
According to the DOJ Press Release, the investigation began because of a series of high-profile condemnations of Orange County’s judicial system. The state appellate court had issued a ruling that described constitutional abuses by local prosecutors and deputies as “systemic,” and affirmed an Orange County Superior Court judge’s decision to remove the county’s entire district attorney’s office from a high-profile mass murder case that has become embroiled in a scandal over a jail informant program.
As a result, the investigation focused on allegations that the district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s department systematically used jailhouse informants to elicit incriminating statements from specific inmates who had been charged and were represented by counsel, in violation of the Sixth Amendment.
Additionally, the investigation sought to determine whether the district attorney’s office committed systematic violations of defendants’ due process rights by failing to disclose promises of leniency that would have substantially undermined the credibility of the informants’ trial testimony.
This was investigation was conducted jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
The matter appears to be ongoing.
Summary Authors
Ginny Lee (4/12/2017)
Last updated Aug. 30, 2023, 2:26 p.m.
Docket sheet not available via the Clearinghouse.State / Territory: California
Case Type(s):
Key Dates
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
This is a DOJ Investigation, conducted jointly with the U.S. U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
Orange County District Attorney’s Office, County
Orange County Sheriff’s Department, County
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act, 34 U.S.C. § 12601 (previously 42 U.S.C. § 14141)
Constitutional Clause(s):
Special Case Type(s):
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: None Yet / None
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Issues
Reproductive rights:
General: