Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jul 2015
Source: Manteca Bulletin (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.mantecabulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3670

PANEL TO REVIEW ORANGE COUNTY DA'S USE OF JAIL INFORMANTS

SANTA ANA (AP) - The Orange County district attorney's office has 
formed a special committee to review its use of jailhouse informants 
following misconduct allegations that have sidetracked some criminal cases.

The committee of independent experts has begun looking into its 
practices and plans to release its recommendations by year's end, the 
DA's office announced Monday.

The committee includes a retired Orange County judge, a former county 
Bar Association president, a retired Los Angeles County prosecutor 
and an ethics lawyer. A law school professor is a committee adviser.

The committee will help the district attorney's office "improve the 
program and avoid any future mistakes," District Attorney Tony 
Rackauckas said in a statement. "I want the public, the bench, and 
the bar to know that our prosecutions of murderers and violent 
criminal street gang members are tough but fair."

The DA's office already has made changes, including new guidelines 
for using jailhouse informants and creating an in-house committee 
headed by Rackauckas to approve their use in individual cases.

"An investigator isn't going to talk a deputy (prosecutor) into doing 
something he probably shouldn't do," Rackauckas told the Orange 
County Register.

The changes follow allegations that prosecutors tried to cover up a 
program that trained snitches to cozy up to high-profile defendants 
and get information. It is illegal for jailhouse informants to 
actively question suspects who have lawyers or who have requested 
legal representation.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom