The Brief

A hearing began this week to determine whether Orange County prosecutors continue to hide evidence of misconduct in the wake of a long-running informant scandal that has tainted criminal cases and marred the county justice system's reputation over the past decade.

The judge presiding over the proceedings questioned whether Orange County law enforcement has reformed its ways in the wake of widespread misconduct allegations that were investigated and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Justice.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein said that he had read assistant public defender Scott Sanders' 424-page "tome" detailing the allegations and concluded that the effort to withhold evidence in the case "looks like a conspiracy," although he quickly walked back his use of the term and said "it seems like there was some type of plan involved" to refuse to turn over evidence to the defense team.

The judge also questioned whether the Orange County District Attorney's Office had made meaningful enough reforms in the wake of the informant scandal and the subsequent DOJ investigation. He asked a senior prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney's office to report back with specifics about what "remedial actions" had been taken.

The hearing resumed Tuesday morning, and is scheduled to restart again next Monday.

Backstory on a scandal

The hearing is being held in the context of a decades-old murder case that was ordered retried in 2022 after Sanders said he discovered that the top prosecutor in the case, Ebrahim Baytieh, now a Superior Court judge, had failed to turn over evidence that could have helped his client's defense.

Sanders has accused Baytieh of being at the center of an "enormous web of deception" designed to cover up misconduct that helped prosecutors win cases while cheating defendants out of their right to a fair trial.

Efforts to reach Baytieh were unsuccessful. A spokesperson for the Orange County Superior Court told LAist that sitting judges are prohibited from commenting on active cases.

The proceedings threaten to reopen an embarrassing chapter in Orange County law enforcement history — the "jailhouse snitch scandal" — which led to overturned convictions and dropped or lessened charges in dozens of criminal cases. Sanders says new details he uncovered could give defendants in nearly 100 other cases evidence to question whether law enforcement carried out misconduct. Such evidence could potentially lead to additional cases being reconsidered and convictions overturned.

The case in the spotlight

The case at the center of the hearing involves Paul Gentile Smith. He is accused of stabbing Robert Haugen to death and setting his body on fire in Haugen's Sunset Beach apartment in 1988. Baytieh handled the case against Smith when he was a prosecutor. Smith was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2010.

But starting in 2014, when the O.C. snitch scandal broke, evidence came to light that jailhouse informants were misused in his case. As part of the probe into the allegations, O.C. sheriff's deputies refused to testify about their use of informants in the Smith case, which led a judge to throw out Smith's murder conviction and order a new trial.

Sanders is now asking a judge to drop charges against Smith completely because of what he says is continued law enforcement misconduct.

As for Baytieh, O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer hired an independent law firm to look into Baytieh's handling of the case, and Baytieh was subsequently fired in 2022. The former prosecutor went on to win election to the O.C. Superior Court a few months later, with endorsements from dozens of current and former judges and law enforcement leaders.

Spitzer issued a statement to LAist this week that his office had already addressed misconduct by Baytieh in the Smith case and that dropping charges against Smith would be "unconscionable."

Why this matters

Sanders argued this week that law enforcement's misconduct in the Smith case went beyond the misuse of jailhouse informants. And he says it continues to this today, despite O.C. law enforcement's assertions that they've made reforms.

Sanders said 15 pieces of evidence in the Smith case, including letters between investigators and informants and an interview with a key witness, hadn't been turned over to Sanders until he discovered, recently, that they existed.

Prosecutors are required by law to turn over any evidence that could be favorable to defendants. Failing to do so is known as a "Brady violation."

Sanders told the judge that he thought prosecutors were "absolutely" still withholding evidence that could help Smith's case. He said given the history of misconduct in the case, and what he said was an unwillingness by the DA's office to investigate that misconduct, "it's just not reasonable to think that when they came across exculpatory evidence, they turned it over."  

The judge said he would let Sanders make his case. That gives the defense team an initial win, since the judge could have denied Sanders' request to hold a hearing on the misconduct allegations and proceeded with Smith's trial.

The judge also said he wanted to determine whether Smith could get a fair trial considering the hostility against Sanders among Orange County law enforcement. He noted that this hostility had been documented in an appeals court ruling that dated back to Sanders' discovery of the use of a secret, unconstitutional jailhouse informant program while defending Scott Dekraai, accused of killing eight people in a Seal Beach beauty salon.

Sanders said he had additional evidence of law enforcement hostility against him: He said that O.C. Sheriff Don Barnes had recently filed a complaint against Sanders with the state bar, including allegations related to the Smith case.

In an email to LAist, Carrie Braun, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, denied that Sheriff Barnes had made allegations to the California State Bar about Sanders in regards to the Smith case. She wrote that despite Sanders' assertions, the sheriff had no hostility toward him for uncovering informant misuse "because those issues resolved nearly a decade ago."

The State Bar would not confirm whether a complaint against Sanders had been filed, per their rules.

The snitch scandal origins

It was Sanders who first exposed the widespread and abusive use of jailhouse informants by Orange County prosecutors and law enforcement.

That led to a federal civil rights investigation that lasted six years and ultimately concluded the Orange County District Attorney's Office and Orange County Sheriff's Department "engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct … that systematically violated criminal defendants’ right to counsel."

When the report was released in 2022, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke wrote that: "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.”

'Full accounting' still due?

The misconduct happened under the previous O.C. district attorney, Tony Rackauckas, who lost his re-election bid to Spitzer in 2018. Spitzer has implemented reforms and pledged not to tolerate cheating among prosecutors and law enforcement.

But, years later, Sanders says he's still uncovering misconduct that prosecutors haven't owned up to.

"It sometimes feels like we haven't made an inch of headway," he told LAist last week.

If voters were confused about who to support in California’s wide-open race for governor, Rep. Eric Swalwell’s exit amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct may leave them as mystified as ever.

Swalwell suspended his campaign Sunday evening and resigned from Congress Monday afternoon — a swift fall from power for one of the state’s leading candidates for governor.

He said he would “fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make.”

In theory, one fewer Democratic candidate in the race should help liberal voters consolidate the field. But in a race that was already anyone’s to win, Swalwell’s exit has only “caused more confusion,” said political strategist Marva Diaz, who primarily works with Democrats but is not involved in any gubernatorial campaign.

“I’ve never seen something so in flux while ballots are about to drop,” she said.

Where things stand

Because Swalwell dropped out after a statutory deadline to formally withdraw from an election, his name will still appear on the June 2 primary election ballot. That makes it possible he’ll still get some votes, but his rivals are already seeking to scoop up as many of his supporters as possible.

Both billionaire climate advocate Tom Steyer and law professor and former Rep. Katie Porter circulated polls indicating they could both pick up a sizable portion of Swalwell’s potential voters. Pollsters with the Public Policy Institute of California and UC Berkeley both agreed Steyer and Porter were the most likely to benefit from prior Swalwell supporters.

But they may not be the only ones, and it’s not clear that either one of them will immediately surge into the lead. An independent campaign committee supporting San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan pulled in $12 million million in new and previously committed contributions from wealthy donors since Friday, committee spokesperson Matt Rodriguez said, indicating his backers see an opening.

They’re launching $4.5 million worth of TV and digital ads Tuesday. Mahan is one of the race’s lower-polling candidates, getting 3% of likely voters’ support in a poll commissioned last week by the state Democratic Party.

Until the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN last Friday published stories with explosive sexual misconduct allegations from four women, including a former staff member, Swalwell had consistently polled ahead of most other Democrats in the race for governor. He was often in a three-way tie for lead Democrat alongside Porter and Steyer, with each of them getting between 10% and 15% of voters polled, tied with or trailing the two leading Republicans, Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco.

What happens to his endorsments?

And though Swalwell counted among his supporters a sizable share of the Democratic establishment — his colleagues in Congress, major labor unions and other Sacramento interest groups — it was by no means a consensus. Now, after those groups have scrambled through emergency weekend meetings to pull their endorsements, they’ll have to slog through their internal procedures if they want to back another candidate for governor.

That gives voters fewer pointers on which candidate to back, Diaz said. Some organizations, she added, may be hesitant to endorse another candidate out of concern they, too, could have damaging backgrounds.

“Most people look to labor for guidance, especially on the Democratic side,” Diaz said. “When labor organizations are not working in tandem, it causes a lot of confusion.”

Swalwell was one of four Democrats the California Labor Federation jointly endorsed for governor, along with Porter, Steyer and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The federation, which could not reach consensus on any individual candidate, likely won’t be revisiting its other endorsements with Swalwell gone, president Lorena Gonzalez said.

But the Service Employees International Union, California Teachers Association and other heavyweights in Democratic politics which had endorsed Swalwell and then withdrew their support may not have time to go back to the drawing board to pick a new candidate. The teachers’ union’s endorsement process, for example, required a vote among hundreds of members from across the state; the union’s next such meeting isn’t scheduled until after the June 2 primary.

Representatives of both unions said they did not have any campaign updates Monday. A spokesperson for the California Professional Firefighters, another major Swalwell supporter, did not respond to inquiries.

Where his backers may throw their support

The effects of Swalwell’s exit on public polling of the race may not be seen for weeks. Donors often look to such measures of a candidate’s performance to decide who to back.

In the last survey UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies conducted of the governor’s race, in March, Swalwell’s supporters leaned more liberal and progressive, said institute co-director Eric Schickler. Swalwell also did better than other candidates among older voters and white voters.

Those voters cut a similar profile to Porter’s supporters, Schickler said, lending credence to the idea that his supporters would start following her.

“On the other hand, Porter has had trouble, for a visible politician, has had trouble winning over a lot of Democratic establishment figures in her own right,” he said. “If you look at the support, it’s a little more similar, but not so striking to say these supporters automatically go there.”

What about Swalwell's seat in Congress?

As for Swalwell’s congressional seat, it’s not clear when he’s stepping down. But he said he would work with his congressional staff to ensure they are able to meet the needs of his San Francisco East Bay district, where he was first elected in 2013.

Swalwell’s resignation Monday leaves the call for a special election to finish his term entirely at Newsom’s discretion, since the candidate filing deadline for the June primary has passed, according to the state election code.

Newsom’s office would not say Monday whether the governor will do so.

But if he calls for the election, the earliest date it could be held would be in mid-August, since state law requires it to take place between 126 and 140 days after the proclamation. If Newsom declines to call a special election, Swalwell’s seat will remain vacant until mid-January 2027, dealing a blow to the U.S. House Democrats who are already outnumbered by the Republican majority.

Because Swalwell opted to run for governor instead of retaining his seat in Congress, there are already seven candidates in the running to replace Swalwell in the 14th Congressional District.

CalMatters’ Yue Stella Yu contributed to this story.

New data from the Port of L.A. for March released on Monday shows a 7% increase in exports compared to the same month last year, with 132,000 containers leaving the port despite the turmoil in the Middle East.

“That's the highest output number for the export containers that we've seen in nearly two years,” Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of L.A. “While encouraging, we have much more work to do to develop a consistent upward trend."

The overall percentage change in container traffic in and out of the port in March is in the single digits, a 3% drop compared to the same month last year. Seroka said that’s because uncertainty over tariffs a year ago led companies to scramble to get their products through ports.

The longstanding trade deficit continues

However, while there’s an upward trend in exports, the data confirms something that’s been true for years: the U.S. is in a trade deficit. In March, overseas companies sent about three times more goods to consumers here than were sent out of the port by American companies. Last month, the port processed over 380,000 incoming containers, mostly from China, Vietnam and Japan.

That trans-Pacific commerce is insulating the Port of L.A. container volume from one of the most consequential geopolitical conflicts in recent memory — the war with Iran.

“So far, it's a concern, but it's not a worry,” Seroka said.

An electric top handler moves cargo off of semi-trucks at the Port of Los Angeles.

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Joel Angel Juarez

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CalMatters

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Foreign shipping companies that do business with the Port of L.A., as well as ports in the Middle East, are doing what they can to protect their trade with the U.S., Seroka said.

“The transpacific business is the most lucrative of any east west [trade] for the service providers and shipping lines… they'll go to great lengths to make sure those supply chains remain intact,” he said.

The port is the busiest in the Western hemisphere, generating more than $300 billion in trade last year, making it an important regional and national economic engine.

But the war is affecting shipping companies and consumers in other ways. The price of gasoline has gone up, as well as cargo ship fuel, which will likely be passed on to consumers.

The directors of a beloved Los Angeles puppetry institution said Monday their theater is here to stay now that they’ve worked out a plan to buy their building.

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been delighting L.A. kids — and kids at heart — since 1963. But in 2019, a landlord’s redevelopment plans forced the theater to move from its original location near downtown L.A. to its current venue in Highland Park.

Co-executive director Mary Fagot said discussions to purchase the building began in 2024. Those talks have culminated in a deal to buy the building for $5 million from its owner, Capstone Equities.

Once the sale is complete, Bob Baker will be able to redirect rent money to new programming, field trips and special events, Fagot said.

“Buying the building means that we won't be subject to rent increases or even another displacement in the future,” she said. “We'll be able to go on presenting our special brand of magic, creativity and imagination, here in this location, forever.”

How puppetry lovers can help secure the deal

The theater said it has already raised $4.5 million for the purchase from organizations such as the Perenchio Foundation, the Kohl Family Foundation and the Ahmanson Foundation, as well as philanthropists and celebrities, including Wallis Annenberg, Jack Black and Tanya Haden.

Now the theater is asking the public for help raising the last $500,000, so it can close the deal without carrying debt into the future.

The news comes as new audiences have been getting to see White Cat, Skateboarding Clown, Gorgeous and all of the theater’s other distinctive puppets in action.

Bob Baker puppeteers brought their talents to Coachella last weekend. They’ll be there again this weekend, adding a dash of whimsy to a lineup that includes headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G.

What’s next?

The theater is also prepping to debut its first new show in 40 years, an hour-long train-themed adventure called Choo Choo Revue.

Fagot said L.A. families are always bringing new generations of kids to their regular shows in Highland Park.

“To be able to say with certainty that this theater will be here for my kids and my kids' kids, and really for the cultural landscape of Los Angeles for generations to come — it feels like a really big deal, not just for us, but for L.A.,” Fagot said.