Rackauckas examined

The Orange County DA Tony Rackauckas, who is engaged in a nasty feud down there with the L.A. Times and the OC Weekly, is the subject of a cover piece in California Lawyer. The story is by author Ed Humes, a former reporter at the Register.

Even the Los Angeles Times proclaimed Rackauckas "one of the two best prosecutors in the office," repeatedly attesting to his integrity and trial skills. To no one's surprise, he won the 1998 DA's election by a landslide.

After five years on the job, however, Rackauckas, while still the DA, has been beset by scandals, investigations, and a steady stream of acrimonious departures. "It turns out that once Tony became DA, everything was political," laments Emard, who was fired by Rackauckas in May. "Everything is about making Tony look good, not doing the job."

Link from CaliforniaAuthors.com