Source: United States Attorneys General 7
The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a settlement agreement with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on the use of custodial informants by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in California. The agreement, together with an earlier agreement with the Orange County District Attorney, fully resolves the department’s civil investigation into custodial informant activity at the Orange County Jails from 2007 through 2016 that violated criminal defendants’ right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment and right to due process of law under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The agreement with the Orange County Sheriff will ensure that reforms put in place by the sheriff since suspending the use of custodial informants in 2016 provide appropriate protections against future violations. Under the agreement, the sheriff agrees to maintain changes to policies, training, document and information systems and audits in a manner that permits effective oversight of the custodial informant practices at the Orange County jails. The sheriff also agrees to solicit feedback on additional improvements from members of the criminal justice system in Orange County and to publish information about its reform efforts. The department will have full and direct access to independently validate that the Sheriff’s Department has sustained the reforms.
“We applaud the sheriff for his proactive efforts instituting key improvements to prevent the misuse of custodial informants at the Orange County Jails and to assist prosecutors in meeting their fundamental disclosure obligations while pursuing justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The robust and transparent validation measures in today’s agreement will strengthen the public’s trust in the sheriff’s Department and uphold the constitutional rights of criminal defendants in custody. The sheriff’s cooperation and adoption of reforms have helped narrow the scope and expected duration of the out-of-court agreement and, together with a related agreement reached with the Orange County District Attorney, will provide for continuation of the necessary collaboration and information sharing.”
The department opened its investigation into the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in 2016. The evidence uncovered by the department revealed that custodial informants in the Orange County Jail system acted as agents of law enforcement to elicit incriminating statements from defendants represented by counsel, and that for years Orange County sheriff deputies maintained and concealed systems to track, manage and reward those custodial informants. The evidence also revealed that Orange County prosecutors failed to seek out and disclose exculpatory information regarding custodial informants to defense counsel.
The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section conducted the investigation pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601. The statute prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law.
Since January 2021, the Civil Rights Division has opened 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies. The section is enforcing 15 agreements with law enforcement agencies and two post-judgment orders. The department also reached a court enforceable agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, Minnesota to resolve its findings. Both are pending review by the court.
The memorandum of agreement between the department and Orange County Sheriff’s Department can be found here, and the department’s investigative findings from October 2022 can be found here.
Information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt.