Real Housewives Son Files Appeal In Phone Tapping Case

ORANGE COUNTY, CA —The phone tapping scandal continues to haunt the Orange County Sheriff's Department, this time with the son of a former "Real Housewives of OC" cast member appealing an Orange County Superior Court judge's rejection of a motion to dismiss an attempted murder case due to those recorded calls.

Citing allegations of outrageous governmental misconduct in the recording of his phone calls as he acted as his own attorney, Waring's appeal is now being filed by attorney Correen Ferrentino, who has stepped in to represent Waring during the appeal. The full mandate appears below.

She argues that the recording of Josh Waring's phone calls as he acted as his own attorney in his attempted murder case should be considered the same as a violation of attorney-client privilege, mandating a dismissal of the charges "because his work-product, including trial strategy, is known to the prosecution," Ferrentino wrote in the appeal.

Orange County Superior Court Jonathan Fish ruled on March 8 that Waring, 30, was warned that his calls were subject to recording by a boilerplate announcement at the beginning of the calls. Fish said the defendant did not take advantage of his right to make sure he had private phone calls.

Waring's attorney, Joel Garson, discovered the tape recordings in February 2018, prompting an investigation that led to the discovery of numerous improperly recorded inmate phone calls. The company that provides phone services blamed the improper recordings on an electronic mishap when upgrading computer software.

Waring had a court order granting him unmonitored phone calls from the jail when he was legally representing himself from Nov. 29 through Dec. 28, 2016.

"In those calls, Waring discussed very specific trial strategy, case impressions, legal research, and other highly confidential topics with his mother, his father, and his girlfriend," Ferrentino wrote in the appeal.

"Those calls were recorded, downloaded, and disseminated to the investigating agency, the specific detectives mentioned on the tapes, and the two assigned deputy district attorneys, one of whom sanctioned the monitoring of the calls."

She added that if Waring is forced to proceed to trial "he will be irreparably harmed because his work-product privileged information, including his trial strategy, has been disclosed to the Sheriff's Department and the prosecutors in this case."

Ferrentino also detailed how Waring's attempts to get an appeal filed with help from public appointed counsel took until Monday to be sorted out.

The attorney had only a day to prepare the appeal before a deadline, so Ferrentino asked for extra time to file a more detailed appeal.

Waring is accused of shooting then-35-year-old Daniel Lopez outside a home in Costa Mesa on June 20, 2016. Two other people escaped injury in the drive-by attack.

Waring Petition for Writ of Mandate Finals With Tables by Ashley Ludwig on Scribd