Thomas Jensen Orloff is an American attorney who served as the 28th District Attorney of Alameda County from 1994 to 2009.

Orloff began work in the DA's office after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley for law in 1970. As a deputy district attorney, he twice prosecuted Huey Newton for the 1974 murder of 17-year old prostitute Kathleen Smith, but both cases ended in mistrials.[1] Following Newton's death in 1989, Orloff would describe him as "no more than a thug" who acted violently and abusively towards those around him.[2] Orloff would try 25 murder cases before becoming Chief Assistant DA in 1989.[3] When District Attorney Jack Meehan retired in 1994, he anointed Orloff as his successor and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors appointed him as the new DA.[3] Orloff then ran unopposed for the position, and was reelected in unopposed elections in 1998, 2002, and 2006. On September 8, 2009, Orloff announced his intention to retire. He retired on September 18, 2009.[4]

Orloff's grandfather was a mayor of Pleasanton, where he grew up.[5]

Orloff's office found itself in the middle of controversy in early 2009 over its pending decision whether to charge a crime in the BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant. Though Orloff charged Johannes Mehserle with murder, some activists complained that he took too long to do so.[6] Criminal law expert and Boalt Hall Law School Professor Franklin Zimring, however, called Orloff's office one of the "better departments" in the United States.[6]

Orloff unsuccessfully prosecuted the Oakland Riders police abuse case, dropping charges after two mistrials from hung juries.[6]

References

  1. ^ Times, Wallace Turner Special to The New York (1979-09-26). "2d Mistrial Is Declared for Newton; Prosecutor to Seek Closing of Case". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  2. ^ Zonana, Victor F.; Hager, Philip (1989-08-23). "Newton--a Struggle to Live Up to the Legend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  3. ^ a b Lee, Henry K. (2009-09-09). "Alameda County's top prosecutor to retire". SFGATE. Archived from the original on 2022-01-17. Retrieved 2025-02-20.
  4. ^ "District Attorney Selected as Outstanding Citizen of the Year". Livermore, CA Patch. 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  5. ^ "Power Prosecutor". Law.com. Retrieved 2025-02-09.
  6. ^ a b c Josh Richman (2009-01-16). "Activists still call for DA's ouster". Oakland Tribune.


Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Orloff
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