SAN DIEGO — On Thursday, a jury in California awarded a substantial sum exceeding $3 million in damages to a former prosecutor from Orange County. This legal triumph concluded the two-week trial in San Diego, where Tracy Miller, a former district attorney supervisor, asserted that Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer aggressively pursued her, leading to her forced departure in 2021. She claimed this vendetta emerged after she took steps to shield female colleagues from retaliation following their sexual harassment allegations against a supervisory figure.
Miller challenged Spitzer and former Chief Assistant District Attorney Shawn Nelson, explicating their misconduct throughout her tenure, a scenario the county allegedly failed to address sufficiently. “She was thrilled the jury came back and recognized what happened to her,” declared Bijan Darvish, Miller’s legal counsel, emphasizing the emotional toll recounting those experiences had on her.
The jury’s verdict includes compensation for future economic loss and emotional distress for Miller, who detailed being marginalized and undermined by Spitzer and Nelson. They reportedly resorted to “gender-based slurs” and belittled her efforts, especially after collaborating with an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gary Logalbo, a district attorney supervisor at the time.
Logalbo, who died in 2021, was later found guilty of harassing four female attorneys. Miller maintained that following her involvement in this investigation, Spitzer chastised her for innocuous things, such as taking meticulous notes during executive meetings.
Spitzer and Nelson, through an attorney, contested Miller’s accusations, underscoring she neither faced demotion nor pay cuts, holding her previous job responsibilities.
In a reflective statement, Spitzer respected the jury’s deliberation but defended his tenure amid a disordered office he had inherited in 2019. “I am heartbroken over the fact that any of my actions could have been interpreted as anything other than a good faith effort to clean up the public corruption in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office,” he expressed.
Apart from the comprehensive monetary award, Miller also received $25,000 in punitive damages, contrasted to the over $300,000 sought by her attorney. Tracey Kennedy, advocating for the county and Spitzer, regarded the verdict sufficient, emphasizing, “A public verdict sends the message.”
Darvish vocalized how the punitive outcome vindicated Miller’s diligent, longstanding commitment to prosecution, affirming she bolstered opportunities for future female prosecutors. “It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t negligence. It was intentional,” he argued in court, painting the strategy used against Miller as deliberate.
When Spitzer assumed his district attorney role, federal investigations were simultaneously probing alleged unlawful practices by county authorities concerning detainee exchanges for incriminating evidence—a claim continually refuted by the county. Throughout her extensive two-decade career, Miller handled pivotal assignments like opioid litigation and the Huntington Beach oil spill, roles fundamental to the district attorney’s operation, according to Spitzer’s reflections.