Federal civil rights officials have closed the book on their years-long probe into the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s former practice of illegally using jailhouse informants to gather incriminating evidence from inmates.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday, July 29, that the sheriff’s agency has successfully completed reforming its practices involving the use of jailhouse informants.
The announcement ends the federal government’s involvement in investigating what came to be known as the “snitch scandal” and overseeing the reforms.
“The collaboration between the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Department of Justice highlights how a strong, cooperative relationship with the Civil Rights Division can achieve faster, more effective, and sustainable outcomes than prolonged litigation,” Sheriff Don Barnes said.
The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division investigation into the use of informants from 2007 to 2016 found that sheriff’s deputies and county prosecutors used jailhouse informants to elicit incriminating statements from defendants who were already represented by legal counsel, violating their constitution rights. Additionally, deputies maintained a system to conceal, manage and reward those informants.
A federal report issued in 2022 acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Department and district attorney’s office had made substantial reforms — severely limiting the use of jailhouse informants in criminal cases — but that more needed to be done. Federal officials signed agreements with the Sheriff’s Department as well as the district attorney’s office in January to cement the reforms, many of which were already in place.
At the Sheriff’s Department, those reforms included additional training of jail personnel about the legal requirements involving informants, requiring the sheriff to approve the use of informants and a mandate that prosecutors be notified in writing “at the earliest possible time” when an informant is used by sheriff’s personnel.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that all provisions in the sheriff’s agreement had been completed.
“The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has demonstrated an enduring commitment to protecting the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of those in its jurisdiction,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We commend the Sheriff and his staff for their efforts in doing their part to ensure the integrity of criminal prosecutions.”
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to legal counsel, while the 14th Amendment protects a defendant’s right to due process.