Tom Orloff
Encyclopedia
Thomas Jensen Orloff is the retired district attorney
for Alameda County, California
.
Orloff began work in the DA's office after graduating Boalt Hall in 1970, trying 25 murder cases before becoming Chief Assistant DA in 1989. When District Attorney Jack Meehan retired in 1994, Orloff 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.
Orloff's grandfather was a mayor of Pleasanton
, where Orloff was born.
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. 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.
Orloff unsuccessfully prosecuted the Oakland Riders police abuse case, dropping charges after two mistrials from hung juries.
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
for Alameda County, California
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
.
Orloff began work in the DA's office after graduating Boalt Hall in 1970, trying 25 murder cases before becoming Chief Assistant DA in 1989. When District Attorney Jack Meehan retired in 1994, Orloff 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.
Orloff's grandfather was a mayor of Pleasanton
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
, where Orloff was born.
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
BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant
Oscar Grant was fatally shot by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, United States, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained...
. Though Orloff charged Johannes Mehserle with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, some activists complained that he took too long to do so. 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.
Orloff unsuccessfully prosecuted the Oakland Riders police abuse case, dropping charges after two mistrials from hung juries.