Gascón loses retaliation case, a grim omen for the L.A. County D.A.

An L.A. County prosecutor on Monday was awarded $1.5 million in a retaliation lawsuit against Dist. Atty. George Gascón. It is a grim omen for the county’s top prosecutor, who faces at least a dozen similar civil claims.

Shawn Randolph, the former head of the juvenile division of the district attorney’s office, claimed she was shuttled off to the parole division for pushing back against some of Gascón’s shifts to the handling of criminal cases involving minors, including his blanket ban on trying juveniles as adults.

Randolph’s legal team, led by civil attorneys Greg Smith and Beth Corriea, also argued that she believed Gascón’s policies violated laws pertaining to victims’ rights and would lead prosecutors to file inaccurate charges in court due to limitations he placed on the types of felonies that could be charged against juveniles.

Attorneys from the L.A. County counsel’s office argued that Randolph did not suffer a demotion in rank or a pay cut, and her division change was part of a broad reshuffling of the district attorney’s office that took place early in Gascón’s tenure. But the jury did not accept that argument.

“I’m grateful to have a forum where what’s happening in the district attorney’s office can be heard in a fair manner,” Randolph said outside the courtroom, describing Gascón’s conduct as an “epic failure” in leadership.

A representative for the county counsel declined to comment.

“We are disappointed by the jury’s verdict and stand by our decision to reassign this and other attorneys to new positions within the office,” Tiffiny Blacknell, chief spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said in a statement. “As any manager will tell you, moving around personnel in order to improve the level of representation this community receives is absolutely critical to a functioning office.”

Several prosecutors could be seen in the gallery in Department 14 of downtown L.A.’s Stanley Mosk Courthouse; when the verdict was read, one excitedly said, “Finally.”

The verdict does not bode well for Gascón, who testified at the two-week trial and faces at least a dozen similar lawsuits from prosecutors who say they were reassigned or passed up for promotions after speaking out against his progressive policies. A number of people suing Gascón, including Victoria Adams, his former chief of staff, and Deputy Dist. Atty. Maria Ramirez, testified against him at Randolph’s trial.

Ramirez is the first of what is expected to be a raft of challengers from inside the office who will attempt to unseat Gascón if he seeks reelection next year.

Although Gascón handily defeated his predecessor, Jackie Lacey, to take office in 2020, his decisions to severely limit the use of sentencing enhancements, eradicate the use of the death penalty and all but end prosecutions of juveniles as adults have been deeply unpopular with rank-and-file prosecutors.

Others have expressed frustration with Gascón’s implementation of seismic changes to the way the office operates without consulting with veteran prosecutors.

At least one retaliation claim against Gascón — filed by the former head deputy of the Compton branch court, Richard Doyle — has been settled by the county, also for a seven-figure sum.

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.