The name. The Orange County District Attorney’s investigator who did this remains unnamed. The name of the DA is Tony Rackaukas, and for the time being, Rackaukas is concealing the name, harboring a criminal and lying about it.

Date: March 10, 2016 STATEMENT

SANTA ANA, Calif. – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) has received inquiries about an OCDA Investigator’s employment status in regards to the courthouse incident yesterday, March 9, 2016. The California Employment Law and The Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights require that the OCDA have all the pertinent information into a matter under review before any HR action is taken. The OCDA is waiting on that information, which we anticipate will take several days, in order to make an appropriate personnel decision. No further information will be disclosed at this time.

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In the scheme of Tony’s lies, this isn’t the biggest or worst. It would be impossible to top the scandal of his office putting paid informants in cells with defendants to get, or just make up, confessions to use against them in court. And it wasn’t just his lying to the defense about it, but he’s lying to the court as well.

But this lie, that he can’t reveal the cowardly mutt under his command who beat James Crawford, a criminal defense attorney, because this worthless pimple’s feelings were hurt over his office’s being caught dirty. Filthy. Scum.

The LA Times tells the story:

When Crawford approached his client, the investigator disparaged defense attorneys as “sleazy,” Steering said. Crawford replied that defense attorneys were no worse than the Orange County district attorney’s office, which has been mired in an ever-widening scandal over the use of testimony from inmate informants. As Crawford walked away, the investigator flicked a large paper clip at the lawyer, Steering said. Crawford then tossed the clip back toward the investigator. “The investigator then grabs [Crawford’s] head and slams it into the bench and then punches him like 10 times in the face and head,” Steering said, adding that sheriff’s deputies and officers from the Santa Ana Police Department had to remove the investigator.

And because Crawford had to suffer this beating, you have to see what he looked like when this piece of garbage was done with him.

And lest some lying apologist tries to suggest that Crawford did anything to deserve getting suckered from behind, getting beaten, because there is always some lying apologist to try to spam the internet with excuses, or at least the old “wait until all the facts are in,” because they cover their pal’s pathetic asses to try to blunt the impact of their criminal conduct until it all blows over, here’s the bottom line: If Crawford had done anything, anything, to warrant the use of force, he would have been arrested. He was not. Beaten. Bloodied. But not arrested.

Why Crawford? It could be because he did his job too well.

James Crawford scored a major win in one of these cases. His client, Henry Rodriguez, had been convicted in large part on the testimony of a man, Michael Garrity, who had been placed in a cell with him. At the time of Rodriguez’s trial, Crawford moved to exclude Garrity’s testimony because he was acting as a paid informant. Orange County prosecutors earnestly promised the judge that Garrity was simply conveying what he had heard as a “passive listener”, and was not expecting any compensation. But when the snitching scandal broke out, Crawford found records demonstrating that Garrity was routinely testifying for the government as an informant, which suggests a rather active form of listening. As a result, the judge granted Rodriguez a new trial.

Or it could be that the mutt who beat Crawford was just a worthless scumbag, looking for someone to beat to vent his anger over getting caught dirty. The why matters less than the fact that it happened. And the blood on Crawford’s face is what matters.

But the lying sack of shit, Tony Rackaukas, won’t give up this cowardly mutt’s name. Until he does, then blame sits on Rackaukas for concealing it. And even though the name will eventually come out, Rackaukas’ name will still matter, because he’s responsible for the criminal enterprise called the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

For those lawyers who have to risk their safety by standing up for the defendants prosecuted by Rackaukas’ co-conspirators, keep an eye on each other. Back up each other. Protect each other from the violent thugs who work for Rackaukas. You may have to fight so that no other criminal defense lawyer is beaten in the courthouse.

And Judges, Rackaukas’ thugs have brought open warfare against criminal defense lawyers to your door. Don’t wait until they beat you as well for ruling against them for their offenses. Deal with this. No lawyer should have to risk being beaten by Rackaukas’ thugs.

Rick Horowitz posts that the name of this savage is Dillon Alley, but that comes from a petition on change.org. It may well be correct, but that’s not where we turn to find out which criminal gets a paycheck from Tony.

Give up the name, Tony. Identify this cowardly piece of shit under your command. Name the guy who beat James Crawford.