SANTA ANA, Calif., March 20, 2026 — A candidate for Orange County Superior Court has filed a lawsuit against the Orange County Registrar of Voters alleging that a sitting judge seeking reelection is attempting to appear on the June 2, 2026 primary ballot under a previously unused name form that is not the one voters know, and is using a candidate statement that is false or misleading.
Charles E. Pell, a federal prosecutor for 20 years, led two of the biggest public corruption cases in Orange County, is asking the court to order Registrar Bob Page to change the ballot name and candidate statement submitted by Judge Ami Sheth Sagel before ballots are printed next week.
Meanwhile, candidate Sheth Sagel seeks to have Pell’s job title, federal criminal prosecutor, removed from the ballot, claiming that he should be required to use his former formal title of “Assistant United States Attorney.” Pell led federal criminal cases against former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do for a bribery scheme involving Covid-19 relief funds, and a case against former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu, for federal criminal charges stemming from the attempted sale of city-owned Anaheim Stadium…