Snitch scandal agreement reached between Orange County Sheriff's Department, D.A. and feds
The Orange County Sheriff's Department and district attorney's office have reached an agreement with federal officials over their illegal use of snitches in county jails, a scandal that upended the justice system in the Southern California county.
Orange County prosecutors and the Orange County Sheriffâs Department have reached a settlement with federal officials over their illegal use of informants in county jails, which was blamed for a years-long scandal that upended the justice system in the county.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it reached an agreement with the Sheriffâs Department that requires training, policy changes, documentation and audits to continue oversight over the use of snitches in jails. Federal prosecutors will also have access to the data to confirm whether the department has performed the required reforms.
The agreement with the Sheriffâs Department would seemingly bring an end to a years-long scandal that has plagued the countyâs justice system, and tainted some of the most high-profile prosecutions.
Details of the illegal use of informants first came to light during the trial of Scott Dekraai, who killed his ex-wife and seven others during a mass shooting in Seal Beach in 2011. Dekraai had admitted to being the gunman, but officials still placed an informant in a neighboring cell.
Dekraaiâs attorney at the time, Orange County Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, accused the Sheriffâs Department of placing informants near defendants to solicit confessions even after the defendants were represented by attorneys. Prosecutors were also accused of hiding evidence of the use of informants during trial, keeping the practice secret, and keeping exculpatory information from reaching defense attorneys.
Orange Countyâs public defenderâs office estimated more than 50 felony trials, most of them homicide cases, were tainted and affected by the snitch scandal.
The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the use of jail informants in 2016, and said their investigation found informants were used as âagents of law enforcement to elicit incriminating statements.â
For years, deputies maintained and concealed records that tracked and managed the jailhouse informants, and prosecutors âfailed to seek out and disclose exculpatory information regarding custodial informants to defense counsel,â according to a statement from the Department of Justice when they announced their findings.
In a statement, Sanders said he hoped the agreement will mean better practices in the future, but said several criminal defendants in Orange County are still unclear about how the use of informants might have affected their trials.
âThis is the largest and longest-running informant scandal in U.S. history â and yet so many defendants remain in the dark about egregious misconduct that unfairly tilted the scales of justice,â he said.
When the scandal came to light, then-Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and then-Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas denied the allegations. When Rackauckas ran for reelection, the scandal was a main point of contention. He lost to now-Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer, who was sworn in in 2019.
âI made it unequivocally clear when I ran for Orange County District Attorney in 2019 that I would not tolerate the âwin at all costsâ mentality of the prior administration,â Spitzer said in a statement. âUnder my direction, OCDA has made a broad series of additional proactive reformative measures to improve OCDA operations, including changes to its management structure, policies, training, supervision, and staffing.â
In a statement, the Sheriffâs Department said it was pleased the investigation was now closed.
âSince 2016, we have worked diligently to implement comprehensive reforms regarding custodial informants,â Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement. âThis Agreement provides a framework for the DOJ to validate those efforts and establish our policies and practices to be among the best in the nation.â
Under the agreement, the Sheriffâs Department will need to publish information about its reforms involving the use of informants and solicit feedback.
âThe robust and transparent validation measures in todayâs agreement will strengthen the publicâs trust in the Sheriffâs Department and uphold the constitutional rights of criminal defendants in custody,â said Assistant Atty. Gen. Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departmentâs Civil Rights Division. âWe applaud the sheriff for his proactive efforts instituting key improvements to prevent the misuse of custodial informants at the Orange County jails.â
The agreement with the Orange County Sheriffâs Department came just days after the Department of Justice announced it had also reached an agreement with the Orange County district attorneyâs office.
That agreement also requires prosecutors to implement new policies to prevent the misuse of informants, maintain records and audits, and to disclose exculpatory evidence to criminal defendants involving snitches.
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Once again, K-pop enjoyed a strong sales year in the United States!
American music data tracking firm Luminate (formerly Nielsen Music), which supplies the data for the Billboard charts, has released its year-end list of the best-selling CDs of 2024. The tracking period for the year began on December 29, 2023 and ended on January 2, 2025.
On the list ranking CD sales only (not including digital download albums or any other format), K-pop artists claimed seven spots out of the top 10. The five K-pop artists who made the 2024 list were Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, ATEEZ, TXT, and TWICEâwith Stray Kids and ATEEZ landing two albums each in the top 10.
Stray Kidsâ âATEâ was the United Statesâ best-selling CD album by a group or male artist in 2024âand the No. 2 best-selling CD overall, after Taylor Swiftâs âThe Tortured Poets Departmentââwith 442,000 copies sold. Stray Kids also took No. 5 on the list with their recent special album â? (HOP),â which sold 248,000 copies in the United States, despite being released just a few weeks before the end of the tracking period.
Meanwhile, ENHYPENâs âROMANCE : UNTOLDâ was the No. 3 best-selling CD of the year with 363,000 copies sold in the United States.
ATEEZâs âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.1â was the No. 4 best-selling CD of 2024 with 250,000 copies sold in the United States, while their latest mini album âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.2â took No. 7 for the year with 225,000 copies sold.
TXTâs âminisode 3: TOMORROWâ made the year-end list at No. 5 with 240,000 copies sold in the United States.
TWICE, the only girl group to make the list for 2024, claimed No. 9 with âWith YOU-th,â which sold 174,000 copies in the United States.
The top 10 best-selling CD albums of 2024 in the United States are as follows:
Taylor Swift â âThe Tortured Poets Departmentâ (1,512,000)
Stray Kids â âATEâ (442,000)
ENHYPEN â âROMANCE : UNTOLDâ (363,000)
ATEEZ â âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.1â (250,000)
Stray Kids â â? (HOP)â (248,000)
TXT â âminisode 3: TOMORROWâ (240,000)
ATEEZ â âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.2â (225,000)
Taylor Swift â â1989 (Taylorâs Version)â (175,000)
TWICE â âWith YOU-thâ (174,000)
Billie Eilish â âHit Me Hard and Softâ (165,000)
Stray Kids and ENHYPEN also made the separate year-end list of the overall top 10-selling albums of 2024 in the United States, which includes not only CD sales but also digital sales and other physical formats, such as vinyl.
Stray Kidsâ âATEâ ranked No. 5 for the year with 449,000 sales, while ENHYPENâs âROMANCE : UNTOLDâ took No. 8 with 378,000 sales.
Congratulations to all of the artists!
Watch Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, ATEEZ, and TXT perform at the 2024 SBS Gayo Daejeon on Viki below:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/40905c-2024-sbs-gayo-daejeon?locale=en]
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, which supplies the data for the Billboard charts, has released its year-end list of the best-selling CDs of 2024. The tracking period for the year began on December 29, 2023 and ended on January 2, 2025.
On the list ranking CD sales only (not including digital download albums or any other format), K-pop artists claimed seven spots out of the top 10. The five K-pop artists who made the 2024 list were Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, ATEEZ, TXT, and TWICEâwith Stray Kids and ATEEZ landing two albums each in the top 10.
Stray Kidsâ âATEâ was the United Statesâ best-selling CD album by a group or male artist in 2024âand the No. 2 best-selling CD overall, after Taylor Swiftâs âThe Tortured Poets Departmentââwith 442,000 copies sold. Stray Kids also took No. 5 on the list with their recent special album â? (HOP),â which sold 248,000 copies in the United States, despite being released just a few weeks before the end of the tracking period.
Meanwhile, ENHYPENâs âROMANCE : UNTOLDâ was the No. 3 best-selling CD of the year with 363,000 copies sold in the United States.
ATEEZâs âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.1â was the No. 4 best-selling CD of 2024 with 250,000 copies sold in the United States, while their latest mini album âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.2â took No. 7 for the year with 225,000 copies sold.
TXTâs âminisode 3: TOMORROWâ made the year-end list at No. 5 with 240,000 copies sold in the United States.
TWICE, the only girl group to make the list for 2024, claimed No. 9 with âWith YOU-th,â which sold 174,000 copies in the United States.
The top 10 best-selling CD albums of 2024 in the United States are as follows:
Taylor Swift â âThe Tortured Poets Departmentâ (1,512,000)
Stray Kids â âATEâ (442,000)
ENHYPEN â âROMANCE : UNTOLDâ (363,000)
ATEEZ â âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.1â (250,000)
Stray Kids â â? (HOP)â (248,000)
TXT â âminisode 3: TOMORROWâ (240,000)
ATEEZ â âGOLDEN HOUR : Part.2â (225,000)
Taylor Swift â â1989 (Taylorâs Version)â (175,000)
TWICE â âWith YOU-thâ (174,000)
Billie Eilish â âHit Me Hard and Softâ (165,000)
Stray Kids and ENHYPEN also made the separate year-end list of the overall top 10-selling albums of 2024 in the United States, which includes not only CD sales but also digital sales and other physical formats, such as vinyl.
Stray Kidsâ âATEâ ranked No. 5 for the year with 449,000 sales, while ENHYPENâs âROMANCE : UNTOLDâ took No. 8 with 378,000 sales.
Congratulations to all of the artists!
Watch Stray Kids, ENHYPEN, ATEEZ, and TXT perform at the 2024 SBS Gayo Daejeon on Viki below:
[viki-watchnow url=https://www.viki.com/tv/40905c-2024-sbs-gayo-daejeon?locale=en]
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