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DOJ: Unlawful Snitching Program Run by the Orange County, California, DA’s Office and Sheriff’s Department Compromised Unknown Number of Convictions
by Jo Ellen Nott
The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a bombshell report on October 13, 2022, revealing that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department “systematically violated criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process …
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More from this issue:
- The Pariah, by Murtaza Hussain
- Sixth Circuit: District Court Confused ‘Attenuation Doctrine’ and ‘Inevitable Discovery Exception’ in Applying Exclusionary Rule, by Anthony Accurso
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Under State Felon in Possession of Firearm Statute, Possessing Multiple Firearms Simultaneously Constitutes One Offense, Not Multiple, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit: Sentencing Court’s ‘Inoculating Statement’ Regarding Potential Guidelines Miscalculation Failed to Satisfy Conditions of Abbas, by Douglas Ankney
- Fifth Circuit Announces Louisiana Aggravated Assault With Firearm Still Not ‘Crime of Violence’ After 2012 Amendment for Purposes of Sentencing Guidelines, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Role of the Magistrate Judge, by Dale Chappell
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces Forfeited Structural Error Automatically Satisfies Third Prong of Plain Error Standard Without a Showing of Prejudice, by Douglas Ankney
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces New Rule Governing Warrants for CSLI and Tower Dumps, Suppresses CSLI Evidence Because Warrant Lacked Particularized Facts Establishing Nexus Between Defendant’s Use of Cell Phone and Charged Crimes, by Anthony Accurso
- Fourth Circuit: Coram Nobis Appropriate Remedy to Achieve Justice Where Petitioner Actually Innocent but Completed Sentence, by Douglas Ankney
- DOJ: Unlawful Snitching Program Run by the Orange County, California, DA’s Office and Sheriff’s Department Compromised Unknown Number of Convictions, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Challenge to Presumptively Vindictive Sentence Constitutes ‘Legality Challenge’ and Thus Cognizable Under PCRA, by Harold Hempstead
- Ninth Circuit Clarifies Framework for Applying Minor-Role Adjustment in U.S. Sentencing Guideline § 3B1.2(b), by Douglas Ankney
- Washington Supreme Court Announces Race and Ethnicity Are Relevant Factors in Analysis of Whether Someone Has Been ‘Seized’, by Jacob Barrett
- Wyoming Supreme Court: Preventing Door From Slamming in Face of Police Officer Does Not Constitute Implied Consent to Enter Home Without a Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
- First Circuit Announces Courts May Consider First Step Act’s Non-Retroactive Changes to Sentencing Law in Determining Whether ‘Extraordinary and Compelling’ Reason Exists for Compassionate Release in Prisoner-Initiated Motion, by Jacob Barrett
- Louisiana Supreme Court Announces Conviction of Lesser Included Offense Subsequently Vacated as Unconstitutional Constitutes Implied Acquittal of Higher Charge; Double Jeopardy Bars Retrial on Higher Charge, by Jacob Barrett
- Seventh Circuit Announces Adoption of Uniform Procedure to Be Followed Where Plea Agreement Includes an ‘Appeal Waiver’ and Defendant Files Notice of Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
- Rhode Island Supreme Court: DUI Suspect Was in ‘Custody’ so Un-Mirandized Roadside Statements Properly Suppressed, by Mark Wilson
- Social Media Surveillance, by Jayson Hawkins
- IRS Continues Practice of Government Agencies Hiding Their Abuse of Civil Forfeiture Procedures, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Challenge to SORNA-Based Illegality of Sentence Claim Cannot Be Waived, Allowing for Challenge at Any Time — Even if First Raised on Appeal, by Anthony Accurso
- Institutional Resistance to Police Reform Continues, by Jayson Hawkins
- Next Gen Facial Recognition Identifies Your Associates, Too, by Anthony Accurso
- Illinois Law Protects Personal Data, by Jayson Hawkins
- Study Examines Link Between Fines and Crime, by Jayson Hawkins
- Location Tracking Devices Can Create the Appearance of Guilt, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- New York Follows California’s Lead Becoming Second State To Require Microstamping of Semiautomatic Handguns, by Douglas Ankney
- The Sixth Amendment Right to Assistance of Legal Counsel: An Examination of Federal Justice System Outcomes, by Casey Bastian
- Drone Company Is Establishing Cozy Relationship With Police, by Anthony Accurso
- The Insidious Nexus Between Law Enforcement Budget Increases and Misdemeanor Policing, by Casey Bastian
- Corporate Data Brokers Help Law Enforcement Spy on Millions of Law-Abiding People, by Anthony Accurso
- $175,000 Awarded to Colorado Man Tased by Cop Angered Over His ‘Fuck Bad Cops’ Placard, by Douglas Ankney
- That Robotaxi Is Watching You, by Anthony Accurso
- Predictive Policing Doesn’t Reduce Crime but Does Increase Targeting of Vulnerable Communities, by Casey Bastian
- Prosecutorial Misconduct Cause of More Than 550 Death Penalty Reversals and Exonerations, by Jacob Barrett
- Michigan Makes Civil Forfeiture Easier at Airports, by Jayson Hawkins
- News in Brief
- New FBI Tip Line: Further Incentive to Abuse Civil Asset Forfeiture, by Casey Bastian
More from Jo Ellen Nott:
- San Francisco Jail Survey Exposes Abuse, Malnutrition and Constitutional Violations, Oct. 1, 2026
- GEO Group Funnels Millions to Trump PAC Following Windfall ICE Contracts, Oct. 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Non-Binding Promises Leave Minnesota City Exposed, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fatal LAPD Arrests Show Systemic Failure in Handling Mental Health Crises, Oct. 1, 2026
- Ohio Finds Guards and Medical Staff Failed to Render Life-Saving CPR to Detainee, Sept. 1, 2026
- Troubled Illinois Lockup Sees Guard Abuses, Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Sept. 1, 2026
- $75 Million CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Minnesota Private Prison Creates Resistance from Activists and Lawmakers, Sept. 1, 2026
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- California Pays $15,000 to State Prisoner Who Claimed He Was Targeted by Guards, June 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Summary Judgment, Settlements.
- Records Show Culture of Impunity Among Kentucky Prison Guards, May 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Snitch Jacketing, Whistleblowing, Evidence - Admissibility.
- Maryland Agrees to Pay $30,000 to Prisoner Who Was Beaten by Guards While Handcuffed, Jan. 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Snitch Jacketing, Liberty Interests, Evidence, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Last of 16 Sentenced in California Prison Aryan Brotherhood Case, As Lawyer Learns He Was Targeted in Murder Plot, Jan. 1, 2026. Snitch Jacketing, Prison Gangs, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Attorney/Client, Confinement in Segregated Housing.
- $95,000 Settlement for Trans BOP Prisoner Assaulted by Cellmate in Arizona Lockup, Dec. 1, 2025. Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Physical Injury Rule, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Transgender Medical Procedures, Discrimination (Transgender), Failure to Protect (Transgender).
- DOJ Settles With Orange County Over Use of “Jailhouse Snitches”, Dec. 1, 2025. Informants, Sixth Amendment, Confessions - Admissibility, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Pleas Linked to Cooperation.
- Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP, July 15, 2025. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Informants, War on Drugs, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Trading Guns for Drugs.
- Almost $4.4 Million for Illinois Prisoner’s Failure to Protect Claim, June 1, 2025. Prisoner-Prisoner Assault, Snitch Jacketing, Failure to Protect (General), Informants (Failure to Protect).
- Los Angeles County Pays $24 Million to Two Former Prisoners Wrongly Convicted as Teens of 1997 Murder, May 1, 2025. Informants, Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, False Exculpatory Statements.
- Sixth Circuit Revives Challenge by Kentucky Prisoner Left Three Weeks in “Rancid” Paper Undershorts, Feb. 15, 2025. Informants, Clothing, Sanitation, Summary Judgment, Deliberate Indifference.





