James Ochoa

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Charge:	Robbery and Carjacking
Sentence:	2 years
Years Imprisoned:	1.42
Year Crime:	2005
Year Convicted:	2005
Year Cleared:	2006
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	California
County or Region of Crime:	Orange
City of Crime:	Buena Park
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"James Ochoa was wrongly convicted in December 2005 of a May 23, 2005, armed robbery and carjacking in Buena Park, CA. Although Ochoa's was excluded as the source of all the crime scene evidence, during his trial he withdrew his not guilty plea and pled guilty after Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert F. Fitzgerald threatened him with life in prison -- but told him he would only be sentenced to two years in prison if he pled guilty. James Ochoa was released on October 20, 2006, after DNA recovered from the crime scene was matched to another man -- and when confronted that man admitted he committed the crime Ochoa had been convicted of committing. Ochoa was wrongly imprisoned for 17 months. Ochoa filed a compensation claim with California's Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board. On Feburary 5, 2008 the hearing officer recommended against granting the claim because Ochoa’s guilty plea contributed to his wrongful conviction. However, after a review of the unusual circumstances contributing to Ochoa’s false guilty plea, the Claims Board voted unanimously on April 24, 2008 to override the hearings examiners recommendation, and awarded Ochoa $31,700 ($100 per day for 317 days of wrongful imprisonment after his conviction.) On April 23, 2008 Ochoa tentatively settled his federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Buena Park for $550,000. So his total compensation will be $581,700."
Conviction Caused By:	Judicial misconduct by Judge Fitzgerald for bullying James Ochoa into pleading guilty by threatening him with life in prison if he was convicted by a jury.
Innocence Proved By:	Charges dropped when DNA evidence excluded James Ochoa as the carjacker and robber. The DNA identified the actual perpetrator who confessed to the crimes.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$581,700 total. $550,000 (City of Buena Park, April 2008) and $31,700 (State of California, April 2008)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	21
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"Falsely convicted man to collect, By H. G. Reza (Staff Writer), Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2008"
Information Location 1:	http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/24/local/me-ochoa24
Information Source 2:	"Oops - judge, da, cops quietly admit they sent an innocent man to prison, R. Scott Moxley (Staff), Orange County Weekly, October 26, 2006"
Information Location 2:	http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/oops/26086/
Information Source 3:	"Wrongly convicted Orange County man is free -- and out of state, by H.G. Reza (staff), Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2006"
Information Location 3:	"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wrong2nov02,1,4018390.story?track=rss"
Information Source 4:	"Man jailed wrongfully for 16 months to get $550,000 from Buena Park, By Serena Maria Daniels, Orange County Register, April 30, 2008"
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:	"James Ochoa Awarded $581,700 After Judge Pressured Him To Falsely Plead Guilty To Carjacking, By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied, May 18, 2008"
Book About Case:	http://justicedenied.org/wordpress/archives/118
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James Ochoa

Charge:

Robbery and Carjacking

Sentence:

2 years

Years Imprisoned:

1.42

Year Crime:

2005

Year Convicted:

2005

Year Cleared:

2006

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

California

County or Region of Crime:

Orange

City of Crime:

Buena Park

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Judicial misconduct by Judge Fitzgerald for bullying James Ochoa into pleading guilty by threatening him with life in prison if he was convicted by a jury.

Innocence Proved By:

Charges dropped when DNA evidence excluded James Ochoa as the carjacker and robber. The DNA identified the actual perpetrator who confessed to the crimes.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$581,700 total. $550,000 (City of Buena Park, April 2008) and $31,700 (State of California, April 2008)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

21

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Falsely convicted man to collect, By H. G. Reza (Staff Writer), Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2008"

Information Location 1:

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/24/local/me-ochoa24

Information Source 2:

"Oops - judge, da, cops quietly admit they sent an innocent man to prison, R. Scott Moxley (Staff), Orange County Weekly, October 26, 2006"

Information Location 2:

http://www.ocweekly.com/news/news/oops/26086/

Information Source 3:

"Wrongly convicted Orange County man is free -- and out of state, by H.G. Reza (staff), Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2006"

Information Location 3:

"http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wrong2nov02,1,4018390.story?track=rss"

Information Source 4:

"Man jailed wrongfully for 16 months to get $550,000 from Buena Park, By Serena Maria Daniels, Orange County Register, April 30, 2008"

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

"James Ochoa Awarded $581,700 After Judge Pressured Him To Falsely Plead Guilty To Carjacking, By Hans Sherrer, Justice Denied, May 18, 2008"

Book About Case:

http://justicedenied.org/wordpress/archives/118

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