Tony Rackauckas

{{Infobox officeholder

|name=Tony Rackauckas

|image=

|imagesize=

|alt=

|caption=

|office=21st Orange County District Attorney

|term_start=January 4, 1999

|term_end=January 7, 2019

|predecessor=Michael Capizzi

|successor=Todd Spitzer

|party=Republican

|birth_name=Anthony Joseph Rackauckas Jr.

|birth_date={{birth date and age|1943|03|18}}

|birth_place=Long Beach, California

|spouse= Married

|children=5

|residence=Newport Beach, California

|education=California State University, Long Beach (BA)
Loyola Law School (JD)

|occupation= Attorney

|website=

}}

Anthony Joseph Rackauckas Jr. (born March 18, 1943) is a former District Attorney of Orange County, California, and a former Superior Court judge.

After losing his reelection bid for a sixth term as Orange County DA in 2018, Rackauckas has come under fire for allegedly fabricating evidence related to a rape and kidnapping case.

Early life

He was born in the family of Mexican-American Maria Socorro Limón and Anthony Joseph Rackauckas, whose family had arrived from Lithuania. Rackauckas served in the United States Army as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division from 1962 to 1964. After completing his service in the army, he attended California State University, Long Beach from 1964–1968 while simultaneously serving in the United States Army Reserve.{{cite web|url=http://orangecountyda.org/office/ocda.asp|title=Orange County DA - District Attorney Tony Rackauckas|website=Orangecountyda.org|accessdate=16 November 2017}}

After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from CSULB in 1968, Rackauckas attended Loyola Law School while simultaneously serving as a social worker in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services. He graduated from Loyola in 1971, earning his Juris Doctor degree.

Career

In 1972, Rackauckas left the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services to become a Deputy District Attorney in the Orange County District Attorney's Office, where he served until leaving in 1988 to enter private practice. While in private practice, Rackauckas authored Proposition 115, which appeared on the June 1990 ballot.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

Rackauckas left private practice in 1990 when he was appointed by California Governor George Deukmejian to be a municipal court judge. Rackauckas served as a municipal court judge until March 1993, when Governor Pete Wilson appointed him a Superior Court judge, a post in which he served until becoming District Attorney{{cite web|url=http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/51374|title=State Bar of CA: Anthony Joseph Rackauckas Jr.|website=Members.calbar.ca.gov|accessdate=2017-03-18}} of Orange County.

Rackauckas won the support of 59% of Orange County voters in the June 1998 election[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-feb-25-me-dapoll25-story.html Undecideds Key in Tight Race for D.A.], Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2002, "Wade, who received 41% of the vote in a 1998 loss to Rackauckas..." for District Attorney against Deputy District Attorney Wally Wade and took office in January 1999. He then won the support of 62% of the voters in a March 2002 rematch with Wade.{{cite web|url=http://ocvote.com/Live/e2/result2.htm|title=Orange County Primary Election|date=March 5, 2002|accessdate=2017-07-09|url-status=bot: unknown|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040823055327/http://ocvote.com/Live/e2/result2.htm|archivedate=August 23, 2004}} He was unopposed in his June 2006{{cite web |url=http://www.ocvote.com/Live/pri2006/results.htm |title=Primary Election |accessdate=2017-07-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928231419/http://www.ocvote.com/Live/pri2006/results.htm |archivedate=2011-09-28 }} and 2010{{cite web |url=http://www.ocvote.com/live/pri2010/results.htm |title=Statewide Direct Primary Election |accessdate=2017-07-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611070934/http://www.ocvote.com/live/pri2010/results.htm |archivedate=2010-06-11 }} bids for a third and fourth consecutive term, winning 100% of the vote in each year.

In February 2014, Rackauckas filed documents required to seek a fifth term in office. He raised $419,000 during a fundraiser at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach for his re-election campaign.{{cite web|url=http://newportbeach.patch.com/groups/elections/p/da-tony-rackauckas-files-to-run-again|title=D.A. Tony Rackauckas Files to Run Again|website=Newportbeach.patch.com|date=2014-02-28|accessdate=2017-03-18}} He won re-election in 2014 with support from 73.3% of the voters.{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/results-616106-county-election.html|title=How O.C. voted: Election results from the county Registrar of Voters|website=Ocregister.com|date=5 June 2014|accessdate=2017-03-18}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ocdistrictattorney.com|title=Orange County District Attorney|website=Ocdistrictattorney.com|accessdate=2017-03-18}}

Rackauckas has been criticized by Public Defender Scott Sanders for his office's purported mishandling of jailhouse informants which has created difficulties in convicting and sentencing defendants due to the violations of defendants' constitutional rights. This resulted in the "taking off the table" of the death penalty for Scott Dekraai, who had pleaded guilty to murdering eight people and wounding another in the Seal Beach massacre.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-orange-county-jailhouse-informant-scandal-20160104-story.html|title='Failure of leadership' at the Orange County D.A.'s office led to informant issues, report says|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=2016-01-04|accessdate=2017-03-18}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/office-698444-jailhouse-prosecutors.html|title=After scathing report by panel he selected, O.C. D.A. Tony Rackauckas says he's staying put|website=Ocregister.com|date=5 January 2016|accessdate=2017-03-18}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/snitchtank|title=Inside the Snitch Tank |website=Ocregister.com|date=12 May 2016 |accessdate=2017-03-18}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ocweekly.com/topic/oc-snitch-scandal-6437882|title=OC Snitch Scandal|publisher=OC Weekly|accessdate=2017-03-18|archive-date=2017-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502163530/http://www.ocweekly.com/topic/oc-snitch-scandal-6437882|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/attorney-688078-case-deputies.html|title=Deputies take the Fifth, complicating yet another jail snitch case|website=Ocregister.com|date=5 January 2016|accessdate=2017-03-18}} Dekraai was sentenced on September 22, 2017 by Goethals to eight terms of life in prison without the possibility of parole, one term for each of his victims and to seven years to life for attempted murder.{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/22/scott-dekraai-orange-countys-worst-mass-killer-gets-eight-life-terms-one-for-each-murder|title=Scott Dekraai, Orange County's worst mass killer, gets life without parole for eight Seal Beach murders|date=23 September 2017|website=Ocregister.com|accessdate=16 November 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/18/judge-rules-out-death-penalty-for-scott-dekraai-in-seal-beach-mass-murder-case|title=Judge rules out death penalty for Scott Dekraai in Seal Beach mass murder case|date=18 August 2017|website=Ocregister.com|accessdate=16 November 2017}}

Rackauckas ran for a sixth term in 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-orange-county-da-politics-20170629-story.html|title=Despite scandals and doubts, Orange County district attorney wants another term, and a shot at vindication|date=July 9, 2017|website=Los Angeles Times}} On November 6, 2018, Rackauckas was defeated by Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer in a runoff.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

After the electoral defeat, Rackauckas admitted during a deposition that he had used a high profile sexual assault case to increase his chances of winning the election. His successor to the office of District Attorney, Todd Spitzer, stated that Rackauckas had invented evidence against the defendants in the sex case. The charges against the defendants were dropped.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/us/grant-robicheaux-rape-charges-dropped.html|title=Charges to Be Dropped Against Ex-Doctor and Girlfriend in California Assault Case|first=Aimee|last=Ortiz|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 5, 2020}}

In January 2019, Rackauckas opened a law office in Tustin, focusing on transactional law and civil litigation.

Electoral history

=Orange County, California District Attorney=

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Orange County, California District Attorney election, 2002

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Tony Rackauckas (incumbent)

| votes = 275,410

| percentage = 61.8%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Wallace Wade

| votes = 170,402

| percentage = 38.2%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 445,812

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Orange County, California District Attorney election, 2006

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Tony Rackauckas (incumbent)

| votes = 296,830

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 296,830

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Orange County, California District Attorney election, 2010[https://www.ocvote.com/data/election-results-archive/ Orange County Statewide Direct Primary Election]

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Tony Rackauckas (incumbent)

| votes = 336,328

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 336,328

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Orange County, California District Attorney election, 2014

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Tony Rackauckas (incumbent)

| votes = 212,716

| percentage = 73.3%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Greg Diamond

| votes = 77,473

| percentage = 26.7%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 290,189

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Orange County, California District Attorney election, 2018{{Cite web| title=Voter-nominated - State constitutional offices | url=https://www.ocvote.com/fileadmin/live/pri2018/sov.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628233652/https://www.ocvote.com/fileadmin/live/pri2018/sov.pdf | archive-date=2018-06-28}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Tony Rackauckas (incumbent)

| votes = 209,148

| percentage = 38.5%

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Todd Spitzer

| votes = 191,346

| percentage = 35.2%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Brett Murdock

| votes = 121,818

| percentage = 22.4%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Lenore Albert-Sheridan

| votes = 20,890

| percentage = 3.8%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 543,202

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Orange County, California District Attorney election runoff, 2018{{Cite web|url=https://www.ocvote.com/fileadmin/live/gen2018/results.htm|title=2018 General Election}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Todd Spitzer

| votes = 484,830

| percentage = 53.2%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Nonpartisan politician

| candidate = Tony Rackauckas (incumbent)

| votes = 425,764

| percentage = 46.8%