A jury in San Diego Thursday discovered {that a} former high- rating Orange County prosecutor was pressured to retire on account of harassment from District Lawyer Todd Spitzer and his high assistant, Shawn Nelson, now a Superior Court docket decide.
Tracy Miller sued Orange County, Spitzer and Nelson in a whistleblower retaliation and harassment lawsuit after she retired following 25 years within the workplace. The jury awarded Miller $3 million in financial damages and later awarded $25,000 to Miller in punitive damages from Spitzer. The jury discovered that Nelson didn’t act with malice.
The jury additionally discovered that the county didn’t cease the harassment.
Miller’s attorneys argued for $330,000 in punitive damages from Spitzer. Miller’s legal professional, Bijan Darvish, stated it amounted to about 10% of Spitzer’s wage for the eight years he “robbed” her off in her profession.
The authorized charges from the county might quantity to about $1 million.
Spitzer testified Thursday afternoon post-verdict that his spouse handles the household’s funds so he was unfamiliar with the small print of their financial state of affairs.
“I see bank card payments now and again,” he stated. “I haven’t got an actual good understanding of our month-to-month outflow.”
He dabbed at his eyes as he testified that any private damages would quantity to a “vital hit for all the things we have labored our total lives for” as a household.
Spitzer, who turns 65 in November, stated he has two years left on his time period in workplace after which hinted he wouldn’t be working for re-election.
When requested when he deliberate to retire, he stated, “Doubtlessly within the subsequent two years — in all probability fairly strongly within the subsequent two years.”
Spitzer stated any punitive injury award is “going to alter our life trajectory.”
He added, “We’ll should work longer. Our daughter was planning to switch to school. I have not been in a position to calculate that, however I will undoubtedly must work longer now.”
Spitzer acknowledged below cross examination that his household owns three properties, one which’s rented out and the opposite that’s not. He stated on account of his profession in public workplace as a lawmaker he’s in three separate pension plans which have various formulation.
Darvish implored jurors to “ship a message” with punitive damages that may halt “this sort of misconduct… deter harassment in opposition to the witnesses who testified.”
Lawyer Tracey Kennedy, who represents the county, stated the verdicts already despatched a message.
“His punishment is the decision,” Kennedy stated, including it should canine his political fortunes.
“His profession as DA is short-lived,” Kennedy stated. “A few years at finest… The message has been set. He understands this.”
Kennedy argued that the punitive damages “must be zero,” but when jurors desire a greenback determine she instructed “at most, $50,000.”
Darvish responded, “We have not seen one second of regret from Mr. Spitzer.”
The case was moved to San Diego due to Spitzer’s standing as Orange County’s high prosecutor and Nelson’s place on the Orange County bench. One other key witness within the trial was Orange County Superior Court docket Choose Chris Duff and a number of the proof concerned Orange County Superior Court docket Choose Ebrahim Baytieh.
Seven of the verdicts have been unanimous, 9 have been 11-1, 5 have been 10-2 and two have been 9-3 on the questions of harassment and retaliation. On damages, the votes have been largely 9-3.
Miller had reached the best stage of govt as a senior assistant district legal professional for about three years earlier than she left the workplace.
She alleged in her lawsuit that Spitzer and Nelson pressured her to retire by making a hostile work setting after she moved to defend youthful prosecutors within the workplace who had reported being sexually harassed by one other prosecutor, Gary LoGalbo, who was finest man at Spitzer’s marriage ceremony and who retired throughout the harassment investigation and died earlier than the case went to trial.
Darvish accused Nelson throughout closing arguments on Tuesday of falsely testifying that Miller was a liar who made up her allegations.
When Miller complained about Nelson, Spitzer did nothing about it, Darvish argued.
Darvish pointed to testimony from retired prosecutor Beth Costello, who acknowledged she wrote a scathing letter about Spitzer displaying a personal social media web page video of her partaking in “pole health” at a gathering of high executives days after he was sworn into workplace.
“He confirmed a video of Beth Costello, who’s an teacher for dancing as pole dancing in its train, and he confirmed the video on a giant display screen of the chief assembly of her doing her train class,” Miller testified within the trial.
Spitzer famous Costello could possibly be fired and that the pole dancing was “inappropriate” conduct unbefitting of a prosecutor, Miller testified.
Miller informed Spitzer what he did was inappropriate, prompting Spitzer to point out “extra clips of her pole dancing and stated, This habits is unbecoming to a DA, and he needs to consider her place,” Miller testified.
Costello, nevertheless, testified that she had a rapprochement with Spitzer after he was elected and stated she felt he had a “huge coronary heart” now.
“Beth Costello was one other of his victims — that is why she wrote that letter,” Darvish argued. “And he did not dispute a single reality… He didn’t dispute … to harassing Beth Costello.”
Darvish additionally stated Spitzer and Nelson would check with the ladies managers as “babysitters” for rookie prosecutors within the department courts.
“They are saying the ladies babysit and the lads handle,” Darvish stated.
Darvish pointed to testimony from Assistant District Lawyer Susan Worth who discovered the belittling “extremely offensive.”
Worth, nevertheless, testified that since her sons have been babysitters she didn’t really feel it was meant to be a sexist remark, although she discovered it offensive.
Darvish additionally famous how Miller was informed that in govt conferences with the opposite high prosecutors she was not allowed to talk with out permission. She additionally famous how when a county-hired legal professional issued a report on the sexual harassment allegations in opposition to LoGalbo, Spitzer despatched it to everybody within the workplace, which primarily outed Miller and different accusers.
“There’s just one purpose to ship that out — to proceed the harassment of the victims,” Darvish argued.
A follow-up report from the skin counsel concluded that Spitzer had violated county coverage by sending out the doc.
Darvish accused Spitzer of threatening to take away Miller as head of an anti-gang program for teens that she based or to decrease it. “It was executed to drive Tracy out,” Darvish argued.
Certainly one of Miller’s pals within the workplace testified that she regarded “unhealthy, upset” from the stress, Darvish argued.
Kennedy argued that workers like Miller have been “at will” employees, that means they might have been fired at any time when Spitzer took workplace. However as an alternative of firing her she was promoted, Kennedy stated.
Spitzer by no means disciplined Miller in any approach, Kennedy argued. She stated there was no documentation that Spitzer and Nelson wished to do away with Miller.
Kennedy additionally downplayed Miller’s function in serving to prosecutor Clarisse Magtoto when she reported allegations of harassment in opposition to LoGalbo.
Orange County Superior Court docket Choose Chris Duff was in administration as a prosecutor when Spitzer requested him to jot down up Magtoto for being untruthful, Duff testified. Duff, who was later elected decide, stated he resisted the order as a result of he was suggested to not by county human sources officers and since he felt it was doubtlessly unlawful.
Nobody requested why Spitzer was involved about her honesty, Kennedy argued.
Kennedy argued Duff and Miller “jumped to a conclusion” that it was about LoGalbo.
“One thing has to occur earlier than you possibly can sue” for harassment, Kennedy argued. “You possibly can’t sue since you worry one thing will occur.”
Kennedy denied that Spitzer moved to scale back the anti-gang program to punish Miller. She stated they’d points funding this system.
“There is not any proof he took any steps to dismantle” this system, Kennedy stated.
“Nothing occurred to her,” Kennedy argued. “She was not retaliated in opposition to.”
Miller “didn’t like Todd or Shawn from the beginning,” Kennedy stated. “It was a altering of the guard.”
Darvish argued in his rebuttal that Duff was retaliated in opposition to and the protection ignored that.
Nobody requested why Spitzer was upset with Magtoto as a result of “it was absurd that he wished to jot down her up,” Darvish argued.
Each time Spitzer acquired dangerous headlines “He blamed Tracy Miller… He blamed all people else,” Darvish argued.
“He even tried guilty” a decide, who discovered Spitzer had violated the Racial Justice Act when mulling the demise penalty in a single case, Darvish argued.
Spitzer was additionally indignant with Miller for blowing the whistle on Spitzer’s assembly with the daddy of a sufferer of a mass capturing in Orange who had been dealing with his personal felony case, Darvish argued. Spitzer was criticized for suggesting leniency for the defendant.
In an announcement he issued later Thursday, Spitzer stated when he took workplace in 2019 he stated he “inherited an workplace in chaos,” referencing the Snitch Scandal involving the unlawful use of jailhouse informants.
He stated he saved his predecessor’s govt administration staff in place for stability.
Spitzer stated he grew annoyed with Miller’s efficiency however added, “In hindsight, I understand that I used to be not as delicate to the problems Ms. Miller was dealing with on the time as I ought to have been, and for that I’m actually sorry.”
Spitzer stated he revered the jury’s determination and he’s “heartbroken over the truth that any of my actions might have been interpreted as something aside from a good-faith effort to scrub up the general public corruption within the Orange County District Lawyer’s Workplace and to create a piece ethic that adheres to what Orange County residents demand of its District Lawyer.”
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