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Tag Archives: orange county grand jury

The O.C. Grand Jury has found the O.C. Jailhouse Informant Program investigation to be a witch-hunt

Posted on by Posted in Crime, OC Grand Jury, OCDA, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana 1 Comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY NEWS RELEASE

Date: June 13, 2017

ORANGE COUNTY GRAND JURY DEBUNKS PHONY NEWS OF PROSECUTORIAL CORRUPTION IN ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

*Allegations characterized by the Orange County Grand Jury as “witch-hunt”

OCDA is addressing only the parts of the report pertaining to the Office and defers inquiries regarding the Orange County Sheriff’s Department to Sheriff Sandra Hutchens.

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County Grand Jury’s (OCGJ) report released today entitled “The Myth of the Orange County Jailhouse Informant Program,” confirms the steadfast position of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) both in court and in the media regarding informant matters. The OCGJ debunked the media “witch-hunt” for agency corruption, in examining People v. Dekraai and People v. Wozniak.

“The OCGJ is confident there is no program of jailhouse informant use for criminal investigation in the Orange County jails.” (p. 19). Furthermore, the OCGJ found that “Allegations of intentional motivation by a corrupt district attorney’s office … to violate citizen’s constitutional rights are unfounded. Disparate facts have been woven together and a combination of conjecture and random events have been juxtaposed to create a tenuous narrative insinuating nefarious intent. That narrative does not stand up to factual validation.” (p. 5)

Key points and findings include: Continue reading→

Applications are now being accepted for the O.C. Grand Jury

Posted on by Posted in Courts, OC Grand Jury, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Superior Court of California County of Orange

News Release: October 3, 2016

Contact: Gwen Vieau, 657-622-7097, PIO@occourts.org

Apply Now to Be a Grand Juror!

Santa Ana, CA – The Superior Court of Orange County seeks qualified individuals to serve on the next Orange County Grand Jury. Assistant Presiding Judge Kirk Nakamura, who chairs the Grand Jury Recruitment/Selection Committee, said, “I encourage Orange County residents to take advantage of this exciting opportunity to work behind-the-scenes to improve Orange County.” He added, “I especially encourage residents of Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Placentia, Santa Ana, and Westminster to apply as these cities, located in Orange County Supervisorial Districts One and Four, historically provide fewer applicants.”

What Does the Grand Jury Do? Continue reading→

Serve on the next Orange County Grand Jury

Posted on by Posted in Courts, OC Grand Jury, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Serve on the Next OC Grand Jury

The Orange County Superior Court seeks OC residents to serve on the next Orange County Grand Jury. The deadline to apply is January 22, 2016, and the one-year term is scheduled to begin July 2, 2016.

Members receive a $50 per day stipend as well as mileage reimbursement. Continue reading→

Deadline to apply for Grand Jury service extended to January 30

Posted on by Posted in Courts, OC Grand Jury, Santa Ana, Todd Spitzer Leave a comment
Orange County Grand Jury

Orange County Grand Jury

Deadline to Apply for Grand Jury Service Extended to January 30, 2015

By OC Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Portions courtesy of Superior Court of California

Assistant Presiding Judge Charles Margines of the Superior Court of Orange County and chair of Grand Jury Recruitment/Selection Committee has extended the deadline to apply for Grand Jury service to January 30, 2015.

The Grand Jury performs civil oversight of local government by reviewing and evaluating county and city agencies, jails, schools, and special districts within Orange County and writes a final report with its findings and recommendations. The Grand Jury also considers evidence for possible indictment of individuals in felony cases and reviews complaints submitted by citizens. Continue reading→

O.C. Grand Jury rips Supervisor Janet Nguyen for wrecking CalOptima

Posted on by Posted in 2014 Elections, Health and Medical, Janet Nguyen, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Janet Nguyen

From the OC Politics Blog

In the wake of a blistering report by Orange County’s Grand Jury that raised troubling questions about hospital lobbyists writing controversial changes to the county’s $1.5 billion health plan for the poor and then fundraising for Supervisor Janet Nguyen, a majority of her colleagues Friday said they supported changing the board governance for CalOptima, according to the Voice of OC.

“While not naming names, the report criticizes county Supervisor Janet Nguyen for her role in remaking CalOptima after she joined its board two years ago. Lobbyists from the Hospital Association of Southern California were allowed to rewrite the county’s ordinance that governs CalOptima to give more control to health-care providers “and less to members and organizations representing members,” the report says, without naming the lobbying organization,” according to the O.C. Register.

This withering report could tank Nguyen’s plans to run for the 34th State Senate District in 2014.  Here is the Orange County Grand Jury’s report summary:

Continue reading→

Revealed – Pulido busted Palacio’s unethical mentor back in 1990

Posted on by Posted in 2012 Elections, Alfredo Amezcua, David Benavides, Education, Elections, John Palacio, Lawyers, Mark McLoughlin, Miguel Pulido, Nelida Mendoza-Yanez, Politics, Rudy Montejano, Santa Ana, Valerie Amezcua 94 Comments

SAUSD Trustee John Palacio

To understand why SAUSD Trustee John Palacio hates Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido so much you have to understand that Palacio is still mad that his best friend and mentor was booted off a local school board some years ago.  Wait a minute – I am not referencing the recall of former SAUSD Trustee Nativo Lopez, but rather the fall from grace and eventual resignation of former Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee Rodolfo “Rudy” Montejano.

Long before Lopez was causing trouble in town, Montejano was the man.  An attorney, who graduated from UC Berkeley, like current Council Member Vince Sarmiento and Council candidate Eric Alderete, Montejano was quite the player back in the day – and Palacio was his number one lackey. Continue reading→

Attorney General should investigate the O.C. Grand Jury

Posted on by Posted in california, Civic Affairs, Courts, Crime, Miguel Pulido, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment
Glenn Stroud – The man who corrupted the O.C. Grand Jury?

According to their website the Orange County Grand Jury is “mandated to investigate and report on both criminal and civil matters within the county”.  My question is whose responsibility is it to investigate the Grand Jury?  As the result of recent developments surrounding the investigation of the City of  Santa Ana’s handling of a transportation contract awarded to Cordoba Corporation and the subsequent Grand Jury report I believe that it is time for Attorney General Jerry Brown to open an investigation of the Grand Jury.

As was exclusively reported here on the Orange Juice in a May 26th post the investigation into the actions of the city and its elected officials was tainted and perhaps corrupted by the actions of one of the jury members, Glenn Stroud.  Stroud, as most of you know, was removed from his position on the Santa Ana Redevelopment/Housing Commission by the city council late last year.  Stroud was angry about the removal and has been a quite vocal critic of the council majority, especially Councilman Sal Tinajero and Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez.

His involvement in the investigation, questioning and issuing of this report may very likely have been predjudiced by his anger over his removal.  I believe the only way to reassure the public that this process was conducted in a fair and unbiased manner is for the Attorney General’s office to proceed with a full and thorough investigation of the Grand Jury and Mr. Stroud.

Click here to read the rest of this post.

Ousted Commissioner Taints Grand Jury Report

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Courts, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana Leave a comment
Glenn Stroud: Grand Jury member and ousted Redevelopment Commissioner

The local blogosphere and some members of the community have been all abuzz in regards to a report released Monday by the Orange County Grand Jury.  The report criticized the Santa Ana City Council over their handling of a transportation contract awarded to Cordoba Corp.   The report, which called the contract “flawed”, has been widely reported in the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Times, the Liberal OC, New Santa Ana and even here on the Orange Juice.

However there is one important point that all of these outlets failed to tell their readers, this report and the impartiality of the Orange County Grand Jury has been tainted by the fact that one of the members of the Grand Jury is a former Santa Ana Redevelopment/Housing Commissioner who was ousted by the same city council criticized in the report.  “Usual Suspect” Glenn Stroud is a member of the Orange County Grand Jury and his disdain for many on this council is well known throughout the community.

Stroud, who was none to happy about his dismissal from the commission by the council, has long been a vocal critic of Councilmembers Claudia Alavarez, Sal Tinajero, Vince Sarmiento and Michele Martinez.  With Mayor Miguel Pulido joining that group in booting Stroud from the commission it clearly could not have endeared him to Stroud.  So is it possible that this report is in some way pay back for Stroud.

Click here to read the rest of this post.

O.C. Grand Jury questions light rail contract awarded to Cordoba Corp.

Posted on by Posted in Business, Civic Affairs, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Cordoba Corp. knows how to game the system when it comes to public contracts…

The Orange County Grand Jury has found that the huge contract that the Santa Ana City Council gave to the Cordoba Corp. was rather fishy, given that his firm was the lowest rated of three bidders, according to the O.C. Register.

“Mayor Miguel Pulido intervened directly after city staff, acting on the advice of the expert panel, recommended that a different company get the contract, according to the grand jury report. He called together a special committee of council members to do its own evaluation – but nobody kept a record of those discussions, the grand jury found.” Continue reading→

If Mayor Pulido goes down, get ready for Mayor Claudia Alvarez!

Posted on by Posted in Civic Affairs, Courts, Democratic Party, Miguel Pulido, Santa Ana 12 Comments

“Los Amigos, a community organization that serves Latinos, asked the Orange County grand jury to look into Mayor Miguel Pulido’s connections to a business that twice received key approvals from the city,” according to the O.C. Register.

Pulido’s worst nightmare has come true.  He has confided to friends that he is in fear of a grand jury investigation – and here it is.

Pulido’s mayoral opponent, Alfredo Amezcua, is a longtime member of Los Amigos.  But I truly doubt that Amezcua will be allowed to become our next Mayor – even if Pulido goes down.

I expect that Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez will run for Mayor if Pulido opts to retire from the City Council.  And if Pulido is forced out of office, Alvarez will be appointed to fill out his term, by the other Council Members. Continue reading→