Orange County prosecutors and the Orange County Sheriff's Department have reached a settlement with federal authorities over the illegal use of informants in county jails.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had reached an agreement with the sheriff's department that would require training, policy changes, documentation and audits to continue monitoring the use of snitches in jails. Federal prosecutors will also have access to the data to ensure the department has made necessary reforms.
Agreement The Sheriff's Department would end years of corruption that plagued the county's justice system and marred some high-profile cases.
Details of the illegal use of informants first came to light during the 2011 trial of Scott DeRoy, who killed his ex-wife and seven others during a shooting spree in Seal Beach. Deroy admitted to being the gunman, but authorities still had an informant in an adjacent cell.
DeGray's attorney at the time, Orange County Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, accused the Sheriff's Department of placing informants near defendants to solicit statements even after the defendants were represented by attorneys. Prosecutors were accused of concealing evidence of their use of informants during the trial, keeping the procedure secret and keeping information exempt from access to defense attorneys.
The Orange County Public Defender's Office has evaluated more than 50 criminal investigations, most of which involved murder, taint and snitch scandals.
The US Department of Justice opened an investigation into the use of prison informants in 2016 He said that it was found in their investigation Informants were used “as law enforcement agents to obtain incriminating reports.”
For years, deputies maintained and concealed records of jailhouse informant surveillance and management, and prosecutors “failed to seek and disclose reasonable information regarding in-custody informants to defense counsel,” it says. Report from the Department of Justice when they announced their findings.
In a statement, Sanders said he hoped the deal would mark future best practices, but said many criminal defendants in Orange County were still unclear about how the use of informants might have affected their trials.
“This is the largest and longest-running whistleblower scandal in American history — and yet many defendants are in the dark about gross misconduct that unfairly tilted the scale of justice,” he said.
When the scandal came to light, then-Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hudsons and Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rakas denied the allegations. The scandal was a major talking point when Rakakas ran for re-election. He lost in the now-district. Atty. Todd Spitzer, inaugurated in 2019.
“When I ran for Orange County District Attorney in 2019, I made it unequivocally clear that I would not tolerate the previous administration's 'win at all costs' mentality,” Spitzer said in a statement. “Under my direction, OCDA has undertaken a broad series of proactive reform measures to improve OCDA operations, including changes to its administrative structure, policies, training, oversight and personnel.”
In a statement, the Sheriff's Department is pleased the investigation is now closed.
“Since 2016, we have worked diligently to implement comprehensive reforms related to whistleblowers in custody,” Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement. “This agreement gives DOJ a framework to validate those efforts and establish our policies and procedures as the best in the nation.”
Under the agreement, the Sheriff's Department must disclose information about its reforms related to the use of whistleblowers and obtaining feedback.
“The firm and transparent vetting measures in today's agreement will strengthen public confidence in the Sheriff's Department and uphold the constitutional rights of criminal defendants in custody,” said Assistant Atty. Gen. Kristen Clark of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “We commend the sheriff for his efforts to make important improvements to the Orange County Jails to prevent the abuse of informants in custody.”
The deal with the Orange County Sheriff's Department comes days after the Justice Department announced a deal with the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
That deal requires prosecutors to implement new policies to prevent abuse of informants, maintain records and audits, and disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants involved in the snitch.
