The U.S. Department of Justice and the Orange County district attorney this month announced a settlement over what had been referred to around here as the “snitch scandal,” whereby local law enforcement agencies violated the constitutional rights of criminal defendants and actively concealed what they were doing.
Deputies who patrolled the jails gave inmates various rewards for snitching on other inmates without notifying the latter’s attorneys. “A systematic failure to protect the right to counsel and to a fair trial makes criminal proceedings fundamentally unfair and diminishes the public’s faith in the integrity of the justice system,” concluded a 2017 report from the feds.
Those not concerned about the rights of accused criminals ought to consider that the departments’ behavior unraveled 57 murder and other felony cases, per a Register report. Snitches were used festered under the previous DA and sheriff. Kudos to current DA Todd Spitzer and Sheriff Don Barnes for their efforts to bring this to a close. The scandal was reported when their predecessors were in charge.
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This case reminds us of government’s constant inability to police itself, its heel-dragging resistance to reform and the lack of appropriate consequences. Few officials have been punished. The state attorney general’s office provided no serious oversight. We’re glad to see a resolution, but it exposes deep flaws in the justice system.
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