Orange County prosecutors and sheriff’s officials won’t talk about how they have reformed the local justice system in the 12 months since a federal investigation confirmed their illegal use of jailhouse informants.
Aside from saying they are cooperating with each other and federal authorities, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department are keeping mum, making it difficult for the public to determine what, if anything, they are doing to implement recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice.
And the DOJ’s civil rights division did not respond to a request for information.
Silence marks the one-year anniversary of the federal investigation that confirmed prosecutors and law enforcement for years were using a secret cadre of jail informants to illegally coax confessions out of targeted inmates who were not supposed to be questioned without their lawyers present. Authorities also failed to disclose their use of informants to defense attorneys.
“I don’t understand why (reform efforts) wouldn’t be public information,” said Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College. “It’s not hard to say, ‘We’re going to follow the law and everyone who doesn’t will be terminated.’ “
Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz, whose agency has the largest stake in resolving the informant scandal, said he, too, has been kept out of the loop.
“It’s been frustrating to be in the dark about what steps toward remediation have been taken,” Schwarz said. “It’s important to remember that the report correctly concluded that the informant scandal continues to undermine public confidence in the integrity of the justice system in Orange County.”
Kimberly Edds, spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, said prosecutors would like to talk about their progress, but can’t because of the confidential nature of the federal investigation.
“In many instances, our efforts go beyond…
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