LOS ANGELES — An Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday ruled that Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer violated the Racial Justice Act when he made comments about the dating habits of Black men while discussing the case of double murder defendant Jamon Buggs.
However, Judge Gregg Prickett stopped short of imposing any sanctions that would have reduced Buggs' sentence. The appropriate remedy in the case — seeking life without the possibility of parole rather than the death penalty — had already been applied by the district attorney's office, Prickett said.
The Racial Justice Act, passed in 2020, prohibits prosecutors from seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction or imposing a sentence based on race, ethnicity or national origin.
