San Diego trial begins in retired prosecutor’s lawsuit against Orange County

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer speaks during a news conference File photo by Jae C Hong Associated Press A retired high-ranking Orange County prosecutor was retaliated against and essentially forced into retirement by District Attorney Todd Spitzer for her whistleblower efforts in a sexual harassment matter her attorney contended Monday but a lawyer for Spitzer and the county commented the D A had no idea the plaintiff was going to leave her job nor did he want her to leave Opening statements and witness testimony began Monday in the trial stemming from a lawsuit filed by Tracy Miller a -year veteran of the office including three years as a senior assistant district attorney when she left The trial is being held in San Diego due to the involvement of two Orange County Superior Court judges in the litigation Miller alleged in her lawsuit that Spitzer forced her to retire by creating a hostile work ecosystem after she attempted to protect younger prosecutors in the office who had stated being sexually harassed by another prosecutor Gary LoGalbo LoGalbo who was best man at Spitzer s wedding died before lawsuits over the alleged harassment went to trial One of Miller s attorneys John Barnett narrated a San Diego jury that when the claims against LoGalbo surfaced Spitzer was aware that his office was in deep trouble particularly because he had held himself out as an advocate for sex abuse casualties It s a very bad look for a prosecutor whose brand is protecting casualties of sexual abuse Barnett commented It s a very bad look because it started to look like he can t even protect the members of his own office from sexual harassment Barnett declared that while publicly an inspection was launched into the claims internally Spitzer sought to discredit the woman who initially accused LoGalbo Barnett recounted jurors When Miller advocated on behalf of the woman and other casualties who later came forward she was punished with threats to her career and the dismantling of programs she d created within the District Attorney s Office according to Barnett who alleged Miller also faced gender-based slurs during that time The cumulative effect of all of those things forced her resignation Barnett declared Miller s lawsuit also alleges Spitzer attempted to block her from reporting his conduct in two death penalty cases that spurred scandals for what selected considered racially charged comments in one of the cases and his intervention in a mass shooting episode to dismiss a criminal complaint against the father of one of the casualties The lawsuit also alleges county agents failed to stop the harassment and allowed the victim shaming to run freely for all to witness Along with Orange County and Spitzer Orange County Superior Court Judge Shawn Nelson a former Orange County supervisor who worked as chief assistant district attorney is also named as a defendant Miller asserts the men routinely berated her during meetings On one occasion Spitzer yelled at Miller for over five minutes because the attorney general was hosting a meeting about an opioid episode filed by the OCDA the lawsuit alleged Spitzer on account of Miller s gender blamed her because he was upset at the attorney general Spitzer stated that Miller was not cutting it as an executive and she should totally take his abuse and not defend herself against Spitzer Spitzer s actions brought Miller to tears in the presence of her subordinate Another time in May of Spitzer and Nelson yelled at Miller for over minutes during an executive meeting because Miller allegedly did not put enough information in the subject line of an email the lawsuit alleged The lawsuit also alleged that Spitzer advised Miller Men and women speak different languages Tracy We don t understand each other And when Miller raised issues about LoGalbo to Nelson he defended LoGalbo the lawsuit alleged When Miller filed a legal claim against her ex-boss Spitzer responded by alleging Miller teamed up with fired prosecutor Brahim Baytieh who is now an Orange County Superior Court judge to smear Spitzer as he ran for reelection It is blatantly obvious that going into my reelection that both Baytieh and Miller coordinated efforts to embarrass me and deter me from my efforts to reverse the win at all costs mentality which involved violating the constitutional rights of defendants by cheating and failing to discover evidence to the defense Spitzer revealed in a message Spitzer accused Miller and Baytieh of being indoctrinated by a -year prior administration that taught you how to cheat seek revenge and eviscerate your enemies Attorney Tracey Kennedy who represents the defendants denied any retaliation took place or that they sought to have Miller leave the office Kennedy explained Miller was a respected and well-regarded prosecutor and that rather than seeking her exit both Spitzer and Nelson relied on Ms Miller for her guidance in various matters Kennedy declared that during her time at the D A s Office Miller never communicated facing gender-based mistreatment even though she could have announced those contends anonymously While conceding that LoGalbo was Spitzer s best man in the attorney declared the men s paths diverged and their relationship wasn t such that Spitzer would protect LoGalbo at the expense of the Orange County D A s Office or at the expense of his career Regarding LoGalbo s initial accuser Kennedy announced Spitzer had concerns about her truthfulness in particular of her work communications but had no concerns or doubts regarding the assertions she levied against LoGalbo