The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to end a years-long investigation into the systemic misuse of jailhouse informants, federal authorities announced on Friday, Jan. 17.

The lengthy Department of Justice Civil Rights Division investigation into the use of informants between 2007 and 2016 found that informants within the Orange County jail system were used to elicit incriminating statements from defendants who were already represented by legal counsel, and that deputies maintained a system to conceal, manage and reward those informants.

The “snitch scandal” was uncovered by an Orange County public defender who also learned that prosecutors had failed to disclose to defense attorneys evidence about the informants that could have helped their clients, something that is required by law.

In a report released in 2022, federal investigators acknowledged that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff’s Department — both of which have undergone leadership changes since the time period covered by the investigation — had made reforms in light of the snitch scandal, but argued that the changes did not go far enough and that the relationship between the two agencies needed to improve in order to regain the public trust.

Earlier this week, the department of justice announced an agreement with the DA office related to the snitch scandal, ending that part of the federal investigation. Both the agreement with the DA and the agreement with the sheriff’s department announced on Friday come days before the beginning of the second Trump administration is expected to bring changes among the upper leadership of federal law enforcement agencies.

The agreement with the sheriff’s department is largely comprised of reforms the department has already instituted since the release of the 2022 report, federal officials confirmed.

Those reforms included additional training of jail personnel about the legal requirements involving informants, requiring the sheriff to approve the use of informants and requiring that prosecutors be notified in writing “at the earliest possible time” when an informant is used by sheriff personnel.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the sheriff’s “cooperation and adoption of reforms have helped narrow the scope and expected duration of the out-of-court agreement…

“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,” Clarke said in a statement. “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.

Sheriff officials say that after the release of the 2022 report, they opted to voluntarily provide federal officials with materials outlining the “changes and safeguards” they have instituted in the wake of the informant scandal. The department of justice has reviewed the current “policies and procedures” of the sheriff’s department and “confirmed them to be constitutional,” sheriff officials said.

“We are proud to set a standard for law enforcement agencies nationwide regarding the use of custodial informants,” Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement. “Our extensive safeguards go above and beyond constitutional requirements and even exceed those found in the Federal Bureau of Prisons.”

The snitch scandal came to light at a time when the sheriff’s department was being run by former Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and the DA’s office was headed by former DA Tony Rackauckas. Both Hutchens and Rackauckas vehemently denied the allegations, but federal investigators — along with California appeals court judges, ultimately confirmed the systemic abuse of defendants’ right to counsel and the withholding of evidence on informants.

Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz said he hopes that the agreement with the sheriff’s department, along with the one with the DA’s office announced earlier in the week, will bring rented intention on “the importance of re-examining cases that were impacted by the informant issues.” Only once those cases are re-evaluated, Schwarz said, “can we ever truly move past this…

“Custodial informants are inherently unreliable and their use as witnesses in criminal cases should be evaluated at the highest levels,” Schwarz said.  “From my perspective, one of the most critical aspects of the agreement with the Sheriff’s Department is the clause requiring decisions to use informants be approved by the Sheriff.  I expect that process will provide the type of oversight and accountability necessary to prevent future issues.”

The scandal was uncovered by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, who at the time was representing Seal Beach mass shooter Scott Dekraai. Sanders discovered that a jailhouse informant had been improperly used to garner incriminating evidence against Dekraai — along with other defendants — despite Dekraai having been formally charged and represented by an attorney. A judge removed the Orange County District Attorney’s Office from the case and took the death penalty off the table, instead sentencing Dekraai to life in prison.

Sanders described the snitch scandal on Friday as the “largest informant scandal in U.S. history,” adding that “not nearly enough has been done to deliver true justice…

“Agreements like this one and with the DA’s office have value,” Sander said. “But those who are watching in this moment could easily miss the bigger point. Defendants for years, and I would argue decades, had their constitutional rights wantonly violated because of a win-at-all costs attitude…

“And the truth is that wrongfully convicted defendants don’t care about agreements; they care about a funded effort allowing defense counsel to re-examine and re-litigate impacted cases where the prosecution team cheated,” Sanders added.

Sheriff officials say Department of Justice officials will verify the practices outlined in the agreement have been sustained for six months before the investigation is formally closed. Izadi said she expects that to happen by mid-year.

“It is encouraging to receive unprecedented DOJ recognition for the landmark improvements and reforms OC Sheriff has established,” Mary Izadi, Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Constitutional Policing Advisor, said in a statement. “The Agreement does not require any changes or enhancements to our existing internal processes.”

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