The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office, dogged in recent years by accusations of overzealous prosecution, took another hit this week when a referee's report was delivered to the California Supreme Court. It found that a deputy DA -- who's now a sitting judge -- and an office investigator withheld crucial information in a death penalty case 25 years ago.
The report, by retired Contra Costa County Judge Richard Arnason, found that then-Deputy DA Joyce Allegro, now a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge, kept information from the lawyers defending accused double murderer Miguel Angel Bacigalupo that could’ve persuaded jurors not to vote for the death penalty.
Allegro just left us a message declining to comment, since the case is still pending; she cited judicial ethics canon 3B(9).
Here's the more in-depth story we just put up on CalLaw.com tonight -- that's where you'll also find a link to the .pdf of the report. That story will also appear in the Recorder's print edition on Monday morning.
— Evan Hill
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