LOS ANGELES _ U.S. Justice Department officials have launched an investigation into whether the Orange County district attorney's office has routinely denied accused criminals fair trials by using jailhouse informants to secretly gather evidence.
The undisclosed role of snitches in several high-profile cases has roiled the county's criminal justice system and raised questions about the conduct of prosecutors and sheriff's jailers.
Earlier this year, a panel established by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas released a highly critical report saying a "failure of leadership" in his office led to the scandal.
Justice officials announced the investigation Thursday, saying the inquiry would scrutinize whether changes are needed to the long-running practice of deploying informants to surreptitiously extract information from defendants.
Investigators will search for patterns of widespread violations of the Constitution's 6th Amendment _ namely whether defendants were denied their right not to be questioned without their attorney present. They will look as well at whether prosecutors have adhered to strict rules that require them to disclose evidence that is favorable to defendants.
"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," said Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, in a statement.
If problems are found, federal authorities could present Rackauckas with a set of reforms and offer him a stark choice: Make the changes or face a federal lawsuit.
In announcing the investigation, Gupta and U.S. Attorney Eileen Decker made clear they expected Rackauckas to cooperate, highlighting an offer he made earlier for federal officials to look into his office's use of informants.
"We appreciate the district attorney's invitation to review his office's policies and practices, along with his assurance of unfettered access to documents and personnel in his office," Decker said.
The district attorney's office made no immediate statement on the DOJ decision to take him up on his offer.
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, whose jailers run the informant program in question, said in a statement she planned to "cooperate fully" with the probe.
In the past, Rackauckas and Hutchens have rejected claims that the use of informants is beset by problems that has led to anything other than isolated problems.
The decision by federal officials to delve into the inner workings of the county's top law enforcement agency raises the stakes dramatically in what has been a rancorous battle over the use of jailhouse informants.
Last year, a judge kicked Rackauckas' office off the case of Scott Dekraai, who pleaded guilty to killing eight people at a Seal Beach salon in 2011.
The district attorney's office was pursuing the death penalty in the penalty phase of the trial, but the judge handed the case over to the state's Attorney General after losing faith in the credibility of sheriff's jailers and prosecutors, who resisted repeated orders to fully disclose the role of an informant in the case and to hand over records about informant program.
An appeals court recently upheld the decision, saying there was ample evidence of wrongdoing. In light of the revelations, at least one other high-profile murder conviction has been tossed out.
The committee appointed by Rackauckas, which included legal experts, had concluded that the D.A.'s office was functioning "as a ship without a rudder" and faulted some of its prosecutors for adopting a "win-at-all-costs mentality."
