orange county
Rival was jailed for months until "full exoneration" by Orange County DA.
The attorney general's office, as it prepares to take over one murder case, also fights the removal of the DA's office in another one.
Legal experts have been calling for a DOJ investigation for years.
California Court Affirms Removal Of Orange County DA's Office From Case Tainted By Informant Scandal
"Substantial" failures to turn over evidence show the prosecutor's office can't be trusted anymore in a 2011 mass murder case, the court says.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
"It is time for compliance."
Evidence of misconduct is piling up -- so what is the Justice Department waiting for?
Prosecutors thinking of bending the rules might think twice in the Golden State.
County prosecutors have only recently acknowledged that a jailhouse informant program does indeed exist.
The log shows that sheriff's deputies actively "cultivated," "recruited and utilized" informants in county jails -- in secret, for years.
Does an informant program exist in Orange County jails? Depends on who you ask.