Sac sheriff has new tech policy

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department is implementing a policy for controversial phone-tracking technology.

The Sacramento Bee reports Sheriff Scott Jones announced the operations order Tuesday to govern the use of Stingray devices, which mimic cell towers and provide location information for people under investigation.

Devices do not collect the content of phone calls and text messages.

The American Civil Liberties Union is legally challenging the department’s actions. Sacramento County’s public defender’s office filed motions last week demanding the names of clients tracked with Stingray devices.

Jones said the new policy was possible because the FBI loosened its nondisclosure agreement.

ACLU of Northern California staff attorney Linda Lye says the policy is a step forward even though it does not seem to require probable cause warrants. Arden Arcade. A year before her death, there were numerous reports from family and friends warning Child Protective Services that the girl was being abused. In one report, a person said Airabella was often left unsupervised at her home’s swimming pool.

The lawsuit was brought in November, alleging CPS’ failure to act was a violation of civil rights.

The settlement agreement says the payment is not an admission of liability.

The state Court of Appeal voted 3-0 to reverse a lower court’s rulings to allow attorneys to include such information in the case of a former student at Edison Middle School who was coaxed into sex on and off campus by her teacher, Elkis Hermida, over seven months in 2010 and 2011.

Hermida was convicted of lewd acts with a minor and sentenced to three years in prison in 2011. Two years later, a Los Angeles jury rejected the girl’s claims the district was negligent in supervising Hermida and was liable for her emotional damage, prompting the appeal.

In the appeal, the girl’s attorneys argued Judge Lawrence Cho erred in allowing evidence of the student’s prior sexual history and permitting the district to argue she was partially at fault in her own abuse.

The state Court of Appeal agreed, reversing Cho’s decision and ordering a new trial.