EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS ACT

Imagine you get hurt because a federal employee did something wrong, but you don’t know what you can do about it. They are employed by the government, so who do you even report to?

The Federal Tort Claims Act was passed in 1946 to allow the federal government to be sued in cases of wrongdoing. This means that federal employees are to be held responsible for any mistakes that result in injury to others.

Have you had to deal with this type of situation in the past? Are you currently recovering from the misdoings of a federal employee?

Keep reading to find out more about what you can do.

What is a Tort?

Simply put, a tort is a wrongful act that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm in some way. It is a civil wrong and there are three types of torts that may cause this harm to other people. Each of them has distinct differences that help to tell them apart.

Intentional Tort

Intentional torts are when someone does something wrong to another person on purpose. Examples of this could be assault, false imprisonment, or fraud.

For the most part, this is when someone does something illegal and harmful with intent to harm.

Negligence Tort

Negligence torts occur when harm is inflicted upon another person due to failure to meet specific standards meant to keep everyone safe and happy.

These are typically due to carelessness and are actually the most common of the three types of torts.

Strict Liability Tort

Strict liability torts are a little different because they happen when responsibility for harm can be applied to someone or something without any evidence of it being their fault.

The harm has to be directly caused by the someone or something in order for the law to see the person as being the victim in these cases.

The Federal Tort Claims Act

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the government is self-insured and will recognize liability when a federal employee does something that results in injury to another person or their property.

If someone is injured or harmed in some way as a result of a federal employee’s actions, you may have the chance to file a claim against the government.

What Do You Need?

You have to be able to show that the federal employee was the one that harmed you or your property.

You also need to be able to prove that the employee was doing something within the realm of duties he or she is meant to be doing for the government when the harm happened.

Lastly, you will need to be able to demonstrate the employee acted wrongfully and this wrongdoing directly resulted in harm to you.

For instance, you may file a FTCA claim if you are a veteran being treated at a Veterans Administration and the doctor employed there misdiagnoses and, as a result, mistreats you.

Is This Like Any Other Lawsuit?

This type of tort claim is a little bit more challenging than a civil suit, because the FCTA is a really complex law.

It is always better to file the claim sooner rather than later in order to have the best chance of winning the case. A written claim must be filed within two years of your knowledge of the negligence or intent to harm.

Hiring an expert-level lawyer is going to be important at this stage. .source

Understanding Tort Law

Tort law can be split into three categories: negligent torts, intentional torts, and strict liability torts.

• Negligent torts are harms done to people through the failure of another to exercise a certain level of care, usually defined as a reasonable standard of care. Accidents are a standard example of negligent torts.
• Intentional torts are harms that have been caused by the willful misconduct of another, such as assault, fraud, and theft.
• Strict liability torts, unlike negligence and intentional torts, are not concerned with the culpability of the person doing the harm. Instead, such cases focus on the act itself. If someone or some entity commits a certain act—for example, producing a defective product—that person or company is responsible for the damage done, regardless of the level of care exercised or their intentions.

Examples of Tort Law

A Liability Case

In February 2016, a self-driving car made by Google crashed into a bus in Mountain View, Calif. The car sensed a group of sandbags positioned around a storm drain and swerved into another lane to avoid them, slamming into the side of a public transit bus. This was the first reported case of a self-driving car causing an accident, not just being a part of one.

According to liability tort law, drivers can seek compensation from a manufacturer for a faulty part of a car, usually an airbag or a tire. However, this liability tort now extends to self-driving cars, and Google and others in the nascent self-driving vehicle business could be found liable for the damages.1

A Negligence Case

Amy Williams filed a negligence lawsuit against Quest Diagnostics and its subsidiary Athena Diagnostics for the wrongful death of her two-year-old son, Christian Millare.

In 2007, Athena Diagnostics misclassified a mutation in Millare’s gene. The plaintiff argued that the misclassification led the child’s doctors to use the wrong treatment for his symptoms. The mutation directly resulted in his seizure and death in 2008.

In 2018, 11 years after the child’s death, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that a genetic testing lab could be classified as a healthcare provider under state law.2

An Intentional Tort Case

An example of an intentional tort is the ruling between the website Gawker and pro wrestler Hulk Hogan on March 18, 2016.

Hogan was awarded $140 million in damages since it was deemed that Gawker intentionally invaded his privacy in order to obtain video evidence of a private act. source

What to Know About Tort Laws in California

In California, those who believe that they have been harmed by another person, company or government agency may pursue civil litigation. A civil case may also be referred to as a tort case, and unlike a criminal proceeding, no one will go to jail after a ruling is made in the matter. Instead, the defendant will likely be ordered to provide compensation to the plaintiff to help that person recover any financial losses incurred because of the defendant’s negligent behavior.

California Law Recognizes Three Different Types of Torts

In California, a tort may be classified as an intentional tort, a negligent tort or a strict liability case. An intentional tort takes place when the defendant engages in an act that he or she knew was wrong. Let’s say that the defendant in a personal injury case saw you walking on the side of the road. Upon seeing you, that person decided to hit you with his or her car despite knowing that doing so would be a violation of his or her duty of care.

A negligent tort occurs when a person unintentionally engages in an act that would constitute negligence on his or her behalf. Let’s say that the driver of the car that hit you did so while driving too fast for road conditions. Although that person should have known that driving above the posted speed limit was risky, there was no actual intent to cause you harm.

In a strict liability case, it doesn’t matter what the defendant’s intentions were. As long as it can be shown that another party’s actions caused you to incur a financial loss, you will likely obtain a favorable outcome in court. Strict liability laws often apply in cases involving vicious animals or defective products.

What to Know About Reckless Misconduct Cases

If a person acts in a reckless manner, he or she may face additional penalties in a civil case. Reckless activity occurs when an individual engages in acts that have a wanton disregard for a person’s life. As a general rule, it is considered to be a cross between an intentional tort and a negligent tort. However, typically, reckless behavior is seen as more severe than negligent behavior.

It’s possible for a defendant to face a reckless misconduct charge even if he or she didn’t intend to cause a specific amount of property damage or a specific type of injury. For example, a person may have acted in a reckless manner by driving 65 miles per hour through a residential street. Despite that, it doesn’t mean that the defendant intended to run you over or drive a car through your house.

How Do You Prove Negligence Occurred?

To obtain a financial award in any type of civil case, you’ll need to prove that the defendant acted in a negligent manner. To do this, you will first need to show that the defendant violated his or her duty of care in allowing your injuries to happen.

In a car accident case, you may be able to establish that by showing that he or she was driving while impaired or was operating an improperly maintained vehicle when the crash occurred. In a premises liability case, you might be able to use witness statements or security camera footage to establish that a hazard wasn’t dealt with properly.

After establishing that a duty of care was violated, you must show that the defendant’s actions were the proximate cause of your injuries. This is why it’s generally in your best interest to seek treatment immediately following any type of accident.

By doing so, you can establish a stronger link between a defendant’s actions and your injuries. Otherwise, it may be possible for that person to assert that a back injury occurred years ago at work or that your pain was caused by some other condition that you have failed to treat.

Finally, you’ll need to show that the defendant’s actions resulted in some sort of financial loss. For instance, if you went to the hospital after a car accident, you would likely be charged for services rendered. Presenting the bill that you received into evidence would generally be enough to satisfy this requirement.

What Types of Damages Might You Be Entitled To?

California tort laws allow you to collect a variety of damages based on the facts of your case. For instance, if you have to go to the hospital, you will likely be able to recover the cost of prior, current or future treatment. If you were forced to miss work, you’ll likely be able to recoup any wages that were lost, and in the event that you can’t go back to work, a settlement will likely include lost future earnings.

If you have to refurbish your home or car to make them easier to use, the defendant in your case may have to pay to make that happen. The defendant may also need to pay to repair or replace any items that were damaged or lost as a result of that person’s negligence.

Finally, you may be entitled to reimbursement for the cost of in-home care or any other costs that are somehow related to a defendant’s irresponsible behavior. In the event that your case goes to trial, it’s possible that the defendant may appeal an unfavorable jury verdict.

If that happens, interest will likely accumulate on the balance of any award that a jury says that you’re entitled to. In some cases, appeals take years to resolve, which means that the final amount that you’re paid may be significantly higher than what you were initially awarded.

Your personal injury attorney may be able to provide more information about the types of compensation that you may receive in your case. An attorney may also be able to talk more about the steps involved in calculating the size of your award.

How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit?

Under California tort laws, you have two years from the date of a negligent action to file a personal injury lawsuit. California law does generally toll the statute of limitations clock for a number of reasons. For instance, if you were under the age of 18 when you were hurt, you’ll typically have two years from your 18th birthday to take legal action.

If you are incapacitated, mentally deficient or incarcerated after an accident occurs, the statute of limitations tolls until your situation changes. For example, if you’re in a coma for three years after being hit in the head by the defendant in your case, you would have two years after emerging from it to file a lawsuit. Of course, this assumes that you have the mental capacity to do so on your own.

This clock may also toll if you aren’t immediately sure that you were hurt as the result of a defendant’s actions. It isn’t uncommon for symptoms of a concussion, internal bleed or other injuries to take days or weeks to present themselves. In such a scenario, you’ll be given two years from the date that a reasonable person would have figured out how they were injured.

It’s worth noting that you may have significantly less time to take legal action against a government agency. Under the California Tort Claims Act, you must generally provide up to six months advance notice before filing a lawsuit. A personal injury attorney may be able to provide more information about your rights as it relates to taking such a step.

If you are hurt for any reason through no fault of your own, it may be in your best interest to hire a personal injury attorney. source

California Tort Claims Act – How to Sue The Government

The California Tort Claims Act (CTCA) is a law enacted by the California Legislature with the intent to protect the state government from liability in certain personal injury cases. The law states that, generally, “a public entity is not liable for an injury” caused by that public entity or any of its employees. This is known as “sovereign immunity.”

However, the law has numerous exceptions that provide injury victims with a limited opportunity to bring a claim and seek monetary damages.

In most California Tort Claim Act claims, proper notice of a claim must be filed within six months of the injury or accident.

The Act allows the government to be held liable in limited circumstances. These provisions include premises liability where the government had notice of the dangerous condition, or where the government is vicariously liable for the negligence of an employee.

If you are successful in your claim against the government, you can be awarded financial compensation for your injuries. Compensatory damages in a personal injury lawsuit can include:

• Medical bills,
• Loss of income,
• Property damage, and
• Pain & suffering.

1. What is the California Tort Claims Act?

If a government agency, employee, or the government itself is responsible for your injuries, there are very specific requirements you must follow in order to file a personal injury lawsuit against the government. Under the California Tort Claims Act, you are required to give notice to the government within a set period of time or you lose your opportunity to seek money damages from the party that injured you.

However, the law also carves out certain limited exceptions that allow the State of California to face liability. For those limited exceptions, a very strict filing claim procedure is in place which must be strictly followed for an injury victim to recover damages.

1.1 What is sovereign immunity?

Sovereign immunity is a legal concept created centuries ago in England, which protected the King from any lawsuit which caused damages to others. Over the many years since that time, the concept has been adopted by every state in various forms to protect public entities from lawsuits for injuries caused by them or their employees.¹

In most states, the sovereign immunity statutes carve out specific exceptions to the law by which a plaintiff can still sue the government or another public entity. These exceptions are usually governed by a strict procedure that must be followed.

1.2 What claims are covered under the California Tort Claims Act?

Under the California Tort Claims Act, all claims for civil liability or “money damages” are covered, meaning that cases that are covered may include:

• Car accidents;
• Bus accidents;
• Burn injuries;
• Slip and fall accidents;
• Medical negligence;
• Nuisance;
• Sports injuries at school;
• Breach of contract; and
• Intentional torts, like assault & battery.

Lawsuits against teachers and school districts in California generally proceed by way of the CTCA.

1.3 What types of claims are not permitted under the California Tort Claims Act?

The Act generally does not allow claims for almost any other reason, except those above. These include:

• Injuries caused by the failure to pass a regulation, ordinance, or law;
• Injuries caused by the California National Guard;
• Injuries caused by failure to enforce a specific law;
• An injury caused by an issuance or failure to issue any permit, license, certificate, or other governmental authorization;
• Any injury caused by a failure to inspect any property which the government itself does not own;
• Injuries caused by any misrepresentation; or
• Damages as a result of reporting identifying information of convicted drug offenders to local schools.

Moreover, punitive damages are generally not allowed in a claim against the government. These types of damages are rarely awarded in a personal injury claim, and may require a showing of recklessness, fraud, or intentional harm. However, these types of damages are specifically excluded from liability under the law.

Additionally, any claim which is not “for money or damages” cannot be filed under the California Tort Claims Act.

Example: Janet is a contractor who has agreed to build a shed for a customer by the end of next week. She goes through the paperwork for the necessary building permit and submits it but the permit is denied. Janet is unable to fulfill her contract, and is sued as a result. She cannot sue the government under the CTCA for denying her permit, even though that denial was the ultimate cause of her damages.

2. When can the government be held responsible for my injuries?

Under the Act, the government can be held legally responsible for personal injury damages in certain situations. These situations include:

• The negligent acts of employees,
• The negligent acts of independent contractors,
• Premises liability for dangerous conditions on government property, and
• When damages are caused by the public entities’ failure to carry out a duty imposed by law.

The entity responsible in a California Tort Claims Act claim is generally the government entity or agency responsible for the employee, property, or carrying out a duty. The CTCA applies to state, county, and local government agencies and departments, including city or municipality agencies.

2.1 When can the government be liable for acts of its employees?

A government entity or agency is responsible for any negligent acts committed by its employees, if:

• The employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment; or
• The employee was carrying out some government function.²

If a government employee is the cause of a person’s personal injury damages, the victim should file a claim under the California Tort Claims Act against the agency or entity that employs that negligent employee. The Act does not provide for a lawsuit against the employee personally but generally only against the employer.

2.2 When can the government be liable for the acts of independent contractors?

The government may be held responsible for the negligent acts of its independent contractors when:

• The independent contractor was acting within the scope of its assignment or agreed upon duties; or
• The independent contractor was carrying out a government function for which it had authority.

The same rules apply under the Act for independent contractors as they do for employees. Again, the independent contractor may not be sued individually under the California Tort Claims Act but instead the lawsuit must be against the government itself.

2.3 When can the government be liable for failure to carry out a legal duty?

If a law imposes a particular duty upon a government entity or agency, and that entity or agency fails to fulfill that legal duty, the government can be held liable for injuries caused as a result under the California Tort Claims Act.

Example: If a government agency is responsible for ensuring that roads are kept in a safe manner, and the agency negligently fails to correct a large pothole it has known about for months, a person injured by the unsafe road condition may be able to sue the agency for damages under the Act.

Note, however, that many government officials acting in their discretionary capacity are protected by qualified immunity.

2.4. Who is responsible for accidents that happen on government property?

When the government owns or controls the property, the government may be liable for injuries caused by any hazardous condition on the property. However, premises liability claims against public entities have a different standard.

In a premises liability claim against the government, the plaintiff has to show:

1. The property was in a dangerous condition at the time of the injury;
2. The injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition;
3. The dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which occurred; and either:
   1. The danger was created by a negligent or wrongful act of a public employee, or
   2. The public entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition and enough time to correct or protect against the dangerous condition.³⁴

To establish notice, the dangerous condition may have existed for a period of time and was obvious enough that the government entity should have discovered the condition and its dangerous character.⁵

3. How do I file a claim under the California Tort Claims Act?

To file a claim against the State of California, a county government, or a municipal government agency, the injury victim must give notice of his or her claim.⁶ This may include filing a report or sending a letter which may suffice as notice, so long as it contains all of the necessary requirements. However, many agencies and municipalities have claim forms that individuals can fill out to provide notice of the claim.

An attorney at the Shouse Law Group can ensure you meet all of the filing requirements, including making sure you file your claim in within the appropriate time limit. Failure to properly file a claim or filing the claim too late could mean your claim will be denied.

3.1 What information does my claim have to include?

The person seeking to file a lawsuit against the government agency or entity must file a claim which includes the following information:

• The name and postal office address of the claimant.
• The post office address to which the person presenting the claim desires notices to be sent.
• The date, place and other circumstances of the occurrence or transaction which gave rise to the claim asserted.
• A general description of the indebtedness, obligation, injury, damage or loss incurred so far as it may be known at the time of presentation of the claim.
• The name or names of the public employee or employees causing the injury, damage, or loss, if known.
• The amount claimed if it totals less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) as of the date of presentation of the claim, including the estimated amount of any prospective injury, damage, or loss, insofar as it may be known at the time of the presentation of the claim, together with the basis of computation of the amount claimed. If the amount claimed exceeds ten thousand dollars ($10,000), no dollar amount shall be included in the claim. However, it shall indicate whether the claim would be a limited civil case. ⁷

Failure to include all of the necessary information can invalidate your claim. If a proper claim is not filed within the time period set forth by law, the claim may be denied.

3.2 What is a “limited case?”

If your claim exceeds $10,000, you may not be required to indicate the amount you seek in your claim, but you are required to indicate whether the claim is a “limited civil case.” A civil case is a “limited civil case” if the plaintiff is seeking less than $25,000, not including costs and reasonable attorney fees, and the plaintiff is not asking for any of the following:

• A permanent injunction: A court order which commands the government agency or entity to or prevents it from taking the complained of action or activity;
• An action which seeks a determination of title to real property;
• Enforcement of any order under the Family Code; or
• An action for declaratory relief: A case that asks the court to state and establish the rights and other legal obligations of the parties involved, but does not actually order enforcement.

It is important to discuss your case with an experienced attorney before filing a claim. Many injury victims under-value their case or do not take into account all their damages. Even minor injuries can require follow-up care or continuing medical treatment. Not asking for enough to fully compensate you for your injuries could leave you paying out of pocket for something that wasn’t your fault.

3.3 Do I have to file a lawsuit if I filed a claim?

If you file a proper notice of claim, you may not have to immediately file a lawsuit. By filing a claim, an injured victim leaves open the option of filing the later lawsuit. However, the party may not be required to follow through with the lawsuit if the government agency agrees to pay the claim.

Example: Carlos was injured as a result of a broken staircase while in a municipal building. Carlos and his attorney file a claim with all of the necessary information and within the time limit. Later, Carlos realizes that he does not want to go through with the lawsuit. He is not required to under the law, but he kept his options open by filing his claim.

4. What are the time limits for bringing a claim?

The act sets forth very strict guidelines for filing a claim against a government entity or agency. Failure to follow these strict guidelines may result in the dismissal of any late claim. This means that an otherwise proper lawsuit for which a plaintiff could receive damages may be invalidated because it was outside of the strict, and often short, time period in which to file.

Most personal injury claims have a limited time to file a claim. However, the statute of limitations, or time allowed to file a claim against government entities is generally shorter than claims against private parties.

A notice must be filed within six months for claims that concern:

• Personal injury,
• Wrongful death,
• Damage to personal property, or
• Damage to crops.

The notice must be filed within six months of the date of the injury. In very limited circumstances, the six-month period may not begin to run until the plaintiff first discovers (or should have discovered) the injury. For example, in a medical negligence case, the victim may not be aware of an accident or injury until weeks or months later. ⁸

Claims which relate to all other causes must be brought within one year of the injury. These actions would include, but are not limited to:

• Breach of contract actions;
• Damage to real property; or
• Declaratory judgment actions not subject to a six-month limitation.

It is critical that the claim is filed within the appropriate time limit to protect the lawsuit from being dismissed.

4.1 Can I file a late claim?

Late claims without a qualifying reason will generally be denied. However, a late claim may sometimes be accepted when the claimant files their claim along with an “application for late filing.” There are four valid reasons for being late in filing a claim:

1. Mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect;
2. Minority (claimant was a minor under the age of 18 during the entire six-month period);
3. Mental or physical incapacity; or
4. Death of a claimant.⁹

Filing a late claim is subject to further strict requirements, but with the help of an experienced personal injury attorney your chances of successfully filing your late claim may increase significantly.

5. What happens after I file my claim?

Once your claim is filed, the public agency generally has 45 days in which to respond or take action. This time is extended somewhat depending on if the claim is mailed and from where the claim is mailed.

There are 5 possible outcomes after a claim is filed:

1. The entity fails to respond within the appropriate time period. This means that the claim is deemed rejected.
2. The entity may approve the claim in whole or in part. The entity may offer a compromise to the claim, which may constitute a settlement of the whole case.
3. The entity may reject the claim.
4. The entity may state the claim does not have sufficient information. The claim can be amended within the time period set by law to fill in that missing information.
5. The entity may return the claim for being untimely.

6. What do I do if my claim is rejected?

If the claim is rejected, a claimant can file suit in state court against the government. To do so, a claimant files a petition with the Superior Court asking to be relieved from the claims requirement. ¹⁰

If the original claim was rejected in whole or in part by the government entity by some form of notice from that entity, the claimant has only six months to file the petition with the court.

If the original claim was rejected because the governmental entity failed to respond to the notice, the time in which to file the petition is two years from the date of rejection.

6.1 What if the court grants my petition?

If the court grants the petition to proceed without the claim requirement, the claimant must file his or her lawsuit within 30 days. Failure to file suit within this time period can result in the inability to ever file the suit again. ¹¹

6.2 What if the court denies my petition?

If the court denies the petition to proceed without the claim requirement, the order denying the petition may be appealed. Your California personal injury attorney can file the appeal on your behalf. If successful on appeal, you will be able to file your case against the government. source

Legal References

Helpful articles involving Torts

How to File a complaint of Police or Government Misconduct?

$uing for Misconduct – Know More of Your Right$

California Attorney Misconduct Law – Suing your attorney

“Civility” Oath Rule Adopted by Supreme Court

Police Misconduct in California – How to Bring a Lawsuit

Section 1983 Lawsuit   How to Bring a Civil Rights Claim

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You may need assistance obtaining police reports, incident reports, bodycam footage etc..

Retrieving Police Data, their police line recordings, and bodycam Footage SB1421 form & learn here

Tort Claims Form File Government Claim for Eligible Compensation

Complete and submit the Government Claim Form, including the required $25 filing fee or Fee Waiver Request, and supporting documents, to the GCP.

See Information Guides and Resources below for more information.

Tort Claims – Claim for Damage, Injury, or Death

• Federal –  Federal SF-95 Tort Claim Form Tort Claim online here or download it here or here from us

• California – California Tort Claims Act – California Tort Claim Form Here or here from us

• Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights (Non-Prisoner Complaint) and also UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT PDF

Taken from the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA Forms source

First Twitter Files Drop of 2023

While conservatives still await the so-called “Fauci Files,” the 12th edition of the Twitter Files released Tuesday night continued to detail how the FBI became the “conduits” to amass censorship requests to feed through the “belly button” of the social media company.

The past Twitter Files have already called the FBI the “doorman” for myriad government agencies seeking to influence Twitter, but independent journalist Matt Taibbi’s latest edition details how a media pressure campaign caused frustration at Twitter, inundated it with government censorship orders, and forced it to request the FBI to feed requests through a single cord attached at the company “belly button.”

“By 2020, Twitter was struggling with the problem of public and private agencies bypassing them and going straight to the media with lists of suspect accounts,” Taibbi wrote to start his 40-post thread, which started to delve into the COVID-19 pandemic era of Twitter’s release of internal communications.

Former President Donald Trump administration’s State Department started an intelligence group called the Global Engagement Center (GEC) that did not sit well with anti-Trump Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth, who was also growing frustrated with media reports attacking Twitter for not monitoring COVID-19 narratives.

“Twitter was also trying to reduce the number of agencies with access to Roth,” Taibbi wrote. “‘If these folks are like House Homeland Committee and DHS, once we give them a direct contact with Yoel, they will want to come back to him again and again,’ said policy director Carlos Monje.”

The frustration boiled over at Twitter when the Trump administration sought to decouple social media from accounts tied to the China amid the breakout of COVID-19, which included Canada and CNN accounts.

“When the State Department/GEC – remember this was 2020, during the Trump administration — wanted to publicize a list of 5,500 accounts it claimed would ‘amplify Chinese propaganda and disinformation’ about COVID, Twitter analysts were beside themselves,” according to Taibbi.

“Roth saw GEC’s move as an attempt by the GEC to use intel from other agencies to ‘insert themselves’ into the content moderation club that included Twitter, Facebook, the FBI, DHS, and others,” he continued.

Problems continued when Roth’s hesitancy to accept GEC’s recommendations versus others led to the GEC to further leverage the media to force Twitter’s hand.

But the anti-Trump Roth did not like working with the Trump State Department, effectively choose to cut the GEC out of influencing Twitter’s censorship regime.

“A deeper reason was a perception that unlike the DHS and FBI, which were ‘apolitical,’ as Roth put it, the GEC was ‘political,’ which in Twitter-ese appeared to be partisan code,” Taibbi wrote. “‘I think they thought the FBI was less Trumpy,’ is how one former DOD official put it.”

“After spending years rolling over for Democratic Party requests for ‘action’ on ‘Russia-linked’ accounts, Twitter was suddenly playing tough,” Taibbi continued. “Why? Because, as Roth put it, it would pose ‘major risks’ to bring the GEC in, ‘especially as the election heats up.'”

Amid the fight between government and Twitter, the Roth-comfortable FBI proposed to be the “conduits” to feed the requests through the “belly button” of the private Big Tech company, because Roth wanted a small “circle of trust.”

Once the FBI spigot was fully connected, Twitter became bloated with censorship requests.

“Requests arrived and were escalated from all over: from Treasury, the NSA, virtually every state, the HHS, from the FBI and DHS, and more,” according to Taibbi.

It even ventured into the absurd, as anti-Trump Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., sought to have a journalist he did not like to be banned, Paul Sperry. Twitter responded “we don’t do this,” but ultimately it would relent and ban Sperry anyway.

Eventually, the FBI umbilical cord was fully effective in receiving bans, according to Taibbi.

“They were even warned about publicity surrounding a book by former Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokhin, who alleged ‘corruption by the U.S. government’ – specifically by Joe Biden,” Taibbi continued.

Twitter was inundated, and confused, leaving the FBI frustrated it would not get immediate results on censorship requests.

“It all led to the situation described by @ShellenbergerMD two weeks ago, in which Twitter was paid $3,415,323, essentially for being an overwhelmed subcontractor,” Taibbi concluded. “Twitter wasn’t just paid. For the amount of work they did for government, they were underpaid.” source

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly promised Twitter it would be “the belly button” for requests from intelligence agencies to the tech industry, newly released documents show.

“Will the industry partners rely on the FBI to be the belly button for the USG? We can do that as well,” FBI Agent Elvis Chan reportedly asked former Twitter Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth in an email, according to the latest “Twitter Files” installment reported by journalist Matt Taibbi.

Chan was reportedly asking Roth about monthly calls between intelligence agencies and the tech industry led by the FBI, Taibbi said. Chan was reportedly pushing for the State Department’s Global Engagement Center to be included in the weekly call, according to emails shared by Taibbi.

Twitter reportedly pushed back against including the GEC in the meetings because it was “political” unlike the “apolitical” intelligence agencies. Roth expressed concerns about the GEC being “press happy” and said it would be a “major risk” to bring it into the weekly call, Taibbi reported.

Chan proposed a compromise to Twitter and Facebook where the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would serve as “conduits in and out from the USG,” Taibbi continued.

Chan reportedly told Roth, “State/GEC, NSA, and CIA have expressed interest in being allowed on in listen mode only,” on a “one-way” channel with the FBI, DHS, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Taibbi’s thread showed.

Roth and Chan reportedly ended up agreeing to an industry call on Signal, an encrypted text messaging app, Taibbi added. Twitter reportedly frequently received requests from the FBI, DHS and other intelligence agencies, Taibbi found. The Treasury Department, Health and Human Services, National Security Agency and the State Department were reportedly among the government agencies sending requests to Twitter, according to Taibbi.

The latest installment of the Twitter Files revealed the FBI’s desire for Twitter to rely on it to be the belly button of the U.S. government (USG). The first Twitter Files installment of 2023 revealed shared the events that led up to the intelligence community’s influence on Twitter. Following that installment, journalist Matt Taibbi released another, which revealed the Global Engagement Center’s (GEC) role.

Taibbi described the GEC as “a fledgling analytic/intelligence arms of the State Department,” and screenshots revealed how this new entity would go directly to the media. In one such instance, a report titled, Russian Disinformation Apparatus Taking Advantage of Coronavirus Concerns, was released, which wrecked a bit of havoc for Twitter.

Twitter’s then Trust and Safety head, Yoel Roth, pointed out the motives of Clemson’s Media Forensic Hub when it complained that Twitter hadn’t “made a Russia attribution” in some time.

Roth told researchers like Clemson that Twitter would be happy to work directly with them instead of the media. He was unsuccessful. Simultaneously, Twitter was trying to reduce the number of agencies that had access to Roth. Twitter’s then-policy director, Carlos Monje, pointed out that once Twitter gave these agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, access to Roth.

“If these folks are like House Homeland Committee and DHS, once we give them direct contact with Yoel, they will want to come back to him again and again,”  Monje said.

Taibbi noted that the GEC report appeared to be based on DHS data that was circulated earlier that week. The data included accounts that followed two or more Chinese diplomatic accounts and ended up with a list “nearly 250,000” names long. The list included Canadian officials and a CNN account.

In an email, Roth said that the GEC attempted to insert itself into conversations Twitter had with several government agencies, including the FBI and DHS. The GEC began to agree to loop Twitter in before going public; however, the agency used a technique that trapped Twitter previously.

“The delta between when they share material and when they go to the press continues to be problematic,” a comms official wrote, adding that they primed the media to be “curios and inquisitive of this dynamic, too.”

This led to Twitter’s disputing a State Department claim that China coordinated coronavirus disinformation accounts. The FBI then informed Twitter that the GEC wanted to be included in their regular “industry call” between companies like Twitter and Facebook and the DHS and FBI. At first, Twitter didn’t want to go this route. Executives at Facebook and Google were united with Twitter in its opposition to the GEC’s inclusion.

“The GEC’s mandate for offensive IO to promote American interests. The relative lack of discretion and caution from senior GEC leadership in sharing reports/analysis based on shaky methodology. A limited track record of successful collaboration with industry.”

Policy 814 Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department

Orange County SD Policy Manual

Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2021/02/26, All Rights Reserved.
Published with permission by Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Department
Discovery Requests – 1

814.1 INTRODUCTION

Legal discovery is the investigative phase of the pre-trial process that allows opposing parties to obtain information to help them build their claims or defenses. Discovery often involves an order for “document production,” broadly defined as a request for records in paper or electronic formats. The United States Supreme Court has long held that evidence, which can possibly assist in the defense of an individual accused of a crime, must be disclosed to the attorney representing that individual. Failure to provide that information can result in the overturning of a conviction and for extreme violations of the rule, prosecution of violators of that rule. The duty to make disclosure rests primarily with the prosecuting attorneys, but the Supreme Court has also held that information known to law enforcement agencies but never disclosed by those agencies to the district attorney, must nevertheless be imputed to the prosecution. Brady v. Maryland (1963), Giglio v. United States (1972), and Penal Code section 1054.5(b).

814.2 DUTIES OF PERSONNEL RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING DISCOVERY

Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) personnel charged with responding to discovery requests from the District Attorney’s (DA) Office shall document and disclose all records that are requested, including potentially exculpatory information and witness credibility information, to the DA’s office within 15 days. The only exceptions to this disclosure are personnel records. A Pitchess motion is required for sworn Member’s personnel records unless the personnel records are subject to disclosure under Penal Code section 832.7(b) (see Policy 805). A subpoena is required for professional staff Member’s personnel records. County Counsel shall be consulted prior to the release of any personnel records pursuant to a Pitchess motion or subpoena. It is the role and responsibility of prosecutors and not OCSD personnel to reach conclusions regarding what shall be disclosed to a criminal defendant in the discovery process. However, OCSD personnel shall not, by either action or inaction, withhold material related to a case from a prosecutor responsible for that case.

814.3 USE OF DISCOVERY TRACKER APPLICATION

All discovery requests received from the DA’s office, in any format, must be processed using the Discovery Tracker application, located on OCSD’s Intranet, under Services. There are no exceptions.

you can download PDF section here cited

Here is the Public Records Service Act Portal for all of CALIFORNIA Click Here

“The guiding light in that office is ‘How is it going to make Todd Spitzer look?’” one former prosecutor said.

 OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer is a Professional Criminal hiding with his immunity cloak! The United States’ Most Corrupt District Attorney To Date

The head of one of the largest district attorney’s offices in the US is tanking the local justice system with his ironfisted grip on the office, using fear and retaliation against subordinates and interfering in high-profile cases to boost his public image, according to internal documents and interviews with current and former employees.

Their accounts come as the district attorney for Orange County, California, Todd Spitzer, is facing a growing list of lawsuits and accusations of racism. More than 70 prosecutors — about a quarter of the office’s entire roster of attorneys — have left over the last three years. All of the alleged misconduct, current and former prosecutors and investigators who spoke to BuzzFeed News said, is to protect Spitzer’s public persona and political career, which they said has come at the cost of morale and the reputation of their office. Justice, they said, has come second to generating positive headlines and protecting the personal brand of the county’s top prosecutor.

“Sometimes that aligns with justice, sometimes it doesn’t,” a current prosecutor said.

BuzzFeed News spoke with 11 current and former law enforcement officials from the district attorney’s office who worked under Spitzer, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity citing a fear of retaliation. Even those no longer working within the prosecutor’s office said they were concerned that speaking out could lead to personal or professional repercussions within the small world of the Southern California legal system. BuzzFeed News also obtained internal memos, emails, confidential investigative reports, and public court records to corroborate many of their accounts. These interviews and documents show that, among other things:

• Spitzer launched internal investigations as payback against prosecutors and investigators who pursued cases that he wanted dropped or that posed a threat of revealing comments or decisions that he wanted hidden, according to three officials with direct knowledge.
• In spite of vowing to step back to protect the prosecution’s independence, Spitzer “shopped around” for a prosecutor who’d align with his personal view in the high-profile case of Grant Robicheaux, a wealthy surgeon accused of raping multiple women, according to two sources. At least one prosecutor refused to take it on because they felt Spitzer wanted charges reduced or dropped.
• Spitzer brought up race multiple times as he made decisions on criminal prosecutions and used Black prosecutors as the face of the office to deflect criticism of his record, former prosecutors said in interviews and documents.
• Two supervisors and an outside investigator have found the district attorney “not credible” when he was questioned in two separate investigations, according to reports obtained by BuzzFeed News. In one instance, Spitzer lied to his own homicide investigator, possibly obstructing justice and tainting two criminal cases, after having an “improper” conversation with the father of a young boy killed in a mass shooting, one former high-ranking prosecutor said in a legal claim.
• Though he touted himself as a victims advocate, some alleged victims have told BuzzFeed News they were publicly discredited, abandoned by Spitzer’s office, and verbally attacked by him behind closed doors.

In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Spitzer denied using the prosecutor’s office for his political benefit, interfering in criminal cases, and taking action to tip the outcome of investigations and trials to his liking. Instead, he accused critics of “coordinat[ing] efforts to embarrass me and deter me from my efforts.”

“This is no coincidence and the motive is clear,” Spitzer said in the statement. “Nothing will deter me from continuing my mission to clean up the public corruption in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and safeguard the criminal justice system.”

He also denied an atmosphere of fear and retaliation in the prosecutor’s office, saying that incidents of discipline were meant to ferret out a “win-at-all-costs” mentality from a previous administration.

“Accountability cannot be confused for retaliation,” he said.

The district attorney was also critical of BuzzFeed News’ use of anonymous sources for this article, suggesting they were disgruntled employees looking for a payout.

“It is disingenuous to allow people speaking under the condition of anonymity to make allegations of this nature, especially when many of them have a vested financial interest in painting the office and the DA in the worst possible light,” he said in the statement. “There has not been a single sustained allegation of retaliation by the DA and to refuse to identify sources while they are allowed unfettered ability to make unsubstantiated and factually inaccurate statements is not only unfair, it is a disservice to the public we serve and the work that we do on a daily basis to pursue justice and give the voiceless a voice.”

Yet that daily work is now threatened by what insiders have called a mass exodus from the office. The office maintains a roster of about 300 attorneys on staff, and the district attorney’s office confirmed 73 prosecutors have left over a period of three years. (Fourteen returned to do part-time work on contract, the district attorney’s office added.)

But the result, sources said, has been a “brain drain” from the Orange County district attorney’s office of mid- and high-level prosecutors. Today, several officials said, prosecutors with less experience are handling bigger caseloads and more complicated cases than they would have before.

“Everybody is looking for an exit strategy because it’s just a rotten place to work,” one former prosecutor said. “That’s 100% Todd Spitzer’s fault.”

The district attorney’s office disputed the number of departures and, despite concerns from multiple supervisors and line prosecutors about attrition, said their rate was lower than other county agencies. Officials also pointed to a county program launched in 2020 that offered up to $100,000 in incentives for long-term employees to retire.

After being contacted for this story, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office asked prosecutors to reach out to BuzzFeed News to talk about their experiences.

Four people — including one who refused to identify themself and one person who declined to be named in this article, saying they were concerned they’d face blowback from coworkers for speaking positively about their boss — spoke highly of Spitzer and his handling of multiple scandals that have plagued the office in recent years. They also described what they said was a divided office, affected by the politics of an upcoming election.

“It is a toxic environment in the sense that if you’re pro-Todd [Spitzer], you can’t say that openly in the office because so many people are openly against him,” Jeri Katheryne Neff, a prosecutor who was asked to contact BuzzFeed News.

The recent headlines, lawsuits, and allegations raised against Spitzer have fractured the prosecution office, said Beth Costello, a senior assistant district attorney who was also asked to contact BuzzFeed News.

“If I say something good and my name is attached to it, then the other 50% of the office that’s disgruntled will have an ax to grind,” she said.

She and the others praised Spitzer for initiatives he’s launched since taking office, such as expanding the mental health and recidivism unit, as well as the veterans treatment court, which looks at providing additional services and support in select cases. He’s also directed more resources to address juvenile justice, they said.

“At the end of the day, he has a huge heart and cares about his office and its employees,” Costello said.

Todd Spitzer (center) gives the thumbs-up at his campaign headquarters in Santa Ana as election results showed he had closed the gap against his rival, incumbent district attorney Tony Rackauckas, in November 2018.

Questions about how politics have influenced investigative decisions began three days after Spitzer won the election for district attorney on Nov. 6, 2018, when Damon Tucker, an investigator within the office who suspected Spitzer of corruption, was suddenly removed from an internal inquiry. But Tucker continued to check on the inquiry, calling the new investigator on the case, according to an arbitrator’s report. At one point, he called a friend at a local police department to ask about the investigation, prompting accusations that he’d overstepped his duties in pursuing a “vendetta” against Spitzer.

In a scathing four-page memo obtained by BuzzFeed News, Spitzer called the entire incident an “accidental and completely unintentional exchange” and then blasted the accounts of his own investigator and two supervisors, calling their accounts of what happened “misleading,” “aggressive,” “biased,” and “agenda driven.”

For others who had direct knowledge about how the review was conducted, it wasn’t a surprise.

Can you imagine this SCUM BAG CRIMINAL DA allowed a MURDERER SNITCH (MAN GETTING SOMETHING IN HIS FAVOR TO STAB A MAN ON HIS SIDE IN THE BACK) TO GET A DEAL IF HE RATS OUT SOME MORE SHIT BAGS LIKE HIMSELF (MURDERER SNITCH).  Our tax dollars at work letting one scum off softly to catch another scum all while being scum yourself! wow, you are a piece of work!

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s Office is Dirty and Corrupt from the TOP DOWN, the good one’s that work there have to fear their own boss! PURE EVIL SCUM SOCIOPATH TODD SPITZER

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today, based upon a thorough investigation focused on custodial informant activity from 2007 through 2016, that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department operated a custodial informant program that systematically violated criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to counsel and Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law.

Specifically, the department found reasonable cause to believe that Orange County prosecutors and Sheriff deputies violated the Sixth Amendment by using jailhouse informants to elicit incriminating statements from people who had been arrested, after those individuals had been charged with a crime. The department also found that Orange County prosecutors violated the Fourteenth Amendment by failing to disclose exculpatory evidence about those custodial informants to criminal defendants. The department believes that OCDA and OCSD stopped using informants as agents of law enforcement to obtain statements from charged defendants in the Orange County Jail in 2016.

The Justice Department provided a comprehensive, written report of its investigative findings to the Orange County District Attorney and Sheriff. The report explicitly acknowledges the reforms that the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department have implemented already, and identifies the additional remedial measures that the department believes are necessary to fully address its findings.

“All persons who are accused of a crime are guaranteed basic constitutional protections that are intended to ensure fairness in criminal proceedings and due process of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. “Prosecutors and law enforcement officers have an obligation to uphold these rights in their fight against crime and in their pursuit of justice, including in the way that they use custodial informants against criminal defendants. The failure to protect these basic constitutional guarantees not only deprives individual defendants of their rights, it undermines the public’s confidence in the fundamental fairness of criminal justice systems across the county.”

The evidence uncovered by the department reveals that custodial informants in the Orange County Jail system acted as agents of law enforcement to elicit incriminating statements from defendants represented by counsel, and that for years Orange County Sheriff deputies maintained and concealed systems to track, manage, and reward those custodial informants. The evidence also reveals that Orange County prosecutors failed to seek out and disclose exculpatory information regarding custodial informants to defense counsel.

The department opened this investigation in 2016. The department reviewed thousands of pages of documents, conducted numerous site visits and interviewed dozens of witnesses, including Orange County prosecutors. The department also monitored developments in criminal cases, including those that culminated recently. Orange County officials cooperated throughout the investigation.

The Special Litigation Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division in Washington, D.C., conducted the investigation pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which prohibits state and local governments from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers that deprives individuals of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. The statute allows the department to remedy such misconduct through civil litigation.

Click Here to read more about this corrupt criminal District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s Office by the ACLU

• IN (JUSTICE) in ORANGE COUNTY A Case for Change and Accountability ACLU REPORT or Here from GoodShepherdMedia.net

• IN (JUSTICE) in ORANGE COUNTY A Case for Change and Accountability ACLU CASE STUDY SUMMARY or Here from GoodShepherdMedia.net

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Yesterday, the ACLU of Southern and Northern California published a comprehensive report titled “IN(JUSTICE) in ORANGE COUNTY: A Case for Change and Accountability.” The report studied the practices of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office finding a complete lack of transparency, severe racial disparities, absent police accountability, and the continued prioritization of low-level charges. A summary of the report can be found here.

“At a time when homicides have reached a 22-year high, hate crimes are skyrocketing, and other violent crimes are up double digits, DA Spitzer continues to prioritize low-level offenses that increase recidivism and lead to stark racial disparities. The racial disparities are especially concerning considering Spitzer’s record of racism including making unsolicited, derogatory comments about Black people when discussing high-profile cases with colleagues. Spitzer’s racism undermines public trust in our criminal justice system which reduces the likelihood that crimes will be reported to law enforcement. That presents a danger to us all.”

While Todd Spitzer ran on ending the “win-at-all-costs mentality” and ensuring the fair administration of justice, the ACLU report further found that, “All available evidence suggests that the office’s policies and practices have not shifted substantially under the current OCDA.” Furthermore, in contradiction to his campaign promises to clean up the practices that led to the informant scandal, DA Spitzer’s recent “cover up” of his racist remarks showcase his inability to turn over exculpatory evidence as required by the U.S. Constitution.

• IN (JUSTICE) in ORANGE COUNTY A Case for Change and Accountability ACLU REPORT or Here from GoodShepherdMedia.net

• IN (JUSTICE) in ORANGE COUNTY A Case for Change and Accountability ACLU CASE STUDY SUMMARY or Here from GoodShepherdMedia.net

Justice Department Finds Civil Rights Violations by OCDA and Sheriff’s Department – Click Here to learn more

• Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s Police Reform Work can be found here:

  Pattern and Practice Police Reform Work – 1994-Present: https://www.justice.gov. or off of our site here

• Attachment(s): https://www.justice.gov/ or here from out site here