Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer harassed and retaliated against a high-ranking female prosecutor in his office after she raised concerns about his conduct and tried to protect other prosecutors who were sexually harassed by another superior, according to a jury verdict Thursday.
The jury, which heard the case in San Diego County to avoid potential conflicts, found Spitzer acted with “malice” against Tracy Miller, who was at one point the highest-ranking woman in the prosecutor’s office.
The jury also found that the county did not take reasonable steps to prevent workplace harassment, and took “adverse employment action” against Miller.
“Tracy Miller had the fortitude to resist the most powerful law enforcement person in the county, and she prevailed,” John Barnett, Miller’s attorney, said after the verdict was read Thursday. “It took a lot of courage, and the jury saw that she was right.”
The county declined to comment on the verdict and a request for comment from Spitzer’s office was not immediately returned Thursday.
The jury found the county, Spitzer and Nelson liable for $3 million in damages, including $1.5 million for past emotional distress. The jury hasn’t yet reached a verdict on punitive damages and was expected to hear more arguments Thursday afternoon.
Unlike criminal trials, civil trials in California do not require a unanimous verdict. In this civil case, juror decisions ranged from 12-0 to 9-3 for the various claims upheld against the defendants. The jury voted 10-2 to award punitive damages against Spitzer.
Miller sued Orange County, Spitzer, and former Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Shawn Nelson, accusing them of retaliation and forcing Miller out after she objected to Spitzer’s actions while heading the office. Miller alleged she tried to protect female prosecutors from being retaliated against after they alleged they were sexually harassed by Gary LoGalbo, a former supervisor who was also friends with Spitzer.
Former and current prosecutors in the office described a “challenging” and “demanding” environment inside the prosecutors office, but some said they faced threats of being fired or demoted.
In her testimony, Miller said Spitzer and Nelson used “gender-based slurs,” disrespected her and undermined her authority in the office.
According to her suit, Miller alleged she had raised concerns that Spitzer had violated the Racial Justice Act by bringing up questions about race while determining whether or not to seek the death penalty against a Black defendant, and that Spitzer used race in case assignments.
Miller said in court that Spitzer had threatened to fire her close friends in the office, and dismantle programs she had spearheaded in retaliation.
But much of the trial centered on what occurred shortly after several female prosecutors alleged they were sexually harassed by LoGalbo, a former police officer and the best man at Spitzer’s wedding.
When an internal county investigation confirmed the women were harassed, the report identified Miller and her testimony by describing her position and gender. Afterward, Miller testified, Spitzer targeted her and criticized her for writing notes during executive meetings.
“You could see anytime a subject came up, Tracy was taking notes about our meetings,” Spitzer testified. “There was a point of time where it was very curious to me, why do you seem to be memorializing everything we’re doing?”
Spitzer, who testified on multiple days during the trial, denied the accusations. He acknowledged deep tensions within the D.A.’s office after he assumed the role in 2018, but attributed the opposition to employees who supported the previous district attorney, Tony Rackauckas.
“I knew it was going to be miserable, and it was miserable,” Spitzer said in testimony, at one point wiping away tears.
He said that was part of the reason why he chose Shawn Nelson, now a county superior court judge, as chief assistant district attorney when he first took office.
“I picked him because I was going into battle, in the lions’ den,” Spitzer said.
But Miller testified Nelson’s actions also raised problems in the district attorney’s office after the allegations of sexual harassment were made. For example, proseuctors testified that during a sexual harassment training session for managers, Nelson stood up and said there were “no victims.”
The county still faces eight sexual harassment lawsuits involving allegations that were made against LoGalbo.
“It’s very important for the public to know what happened,” Barnett said. “I was confident that our case was strong and we were right.”
