Deputy District Attorney Shawn Randolph, a 35-year veteran prosecutor in Los Angeles County, was awarded $1.5 million in civil damages on Monday in her retaliation lawsuit against her boss, DA George Gascon.
This is the first case to go to trial, and there are nearly 20 other similar lawsuits pending. A previous retaliation lawsuit was settled out of court for more than a million dollars.
Even the far-left Los Angeles Times admitted that the award doesn’t bode well for Gascon, who has survived two recall efforts:
The verdict does not bode well for Gascón, who testified at the two-week trial and faces 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 are suing Gascón, including Victoria Adams, his former chief of staff, and Deputy Dist. Atty. Maria Ramirez, who testified against him at Randolph’s trial.
The other lawsuits pending from prosecutors claim that Gascon retaliated against them when they raised objections about his “reform” policies by disparaging them and demoting them to dead-end positions. The vice president of the union representing prosecutors, Eric Giddal, celebrated the award:
We all know what George Gascón thinks about public servants.
He has called lifelong public servants “internal terrorists.” And he treated them as such.
He silenced their voices, he engaged in petty and vindictive acts of retaliation, and rewarded political loyalty instead of competency and professionalism.
Far worse, he did so at the expense of public safety. Today, jurors spoke out against Gascón’s incompetence and condemned his illegal machinations.
Gascon’s former chief of staff Victoria Adams filed a retaliation lawsuit in December, claiming she was demoted for challenging the legality of a number of Gascon’s policies upon his taking office. They included eliminating cash bail, a ban on the prosecution of juveniles as adults, and sentencing “enhancements” for crimes involving a firearm or defendants with previous felony convictions. He also instituted a policy of not seeking the death penalty even for the most horrific crimes of violence.
The case of a man claiming to be a woman serves as just one example of how Gascon’s “reforms” turned out. Hannah (James) Tubbs sexually assaulted a 10-year-old-girl in a restroom when he was just under age 18. He wasn’t charged with the crime until a DNA match when he was 26. Gascon charged him as a juvenile and obtained just a two-year sentence in a “youth” facility for his crime.
John Lewin, another prosecutor who was demoted for challenging Gascon, celebrated the court’s decision to award damages to Randolph:
When George Gascon tried to implement policies that are not only illegal, but which have resulted in the deaths and victimization of an untold number of innocent citizens, Shawn risked her career and her reputation to do what was right.
George Gascon is derelict in his responsibility as District Attorney, and is a scourge to the community at large. This is the beginning of the end for him! His horrible reign of terror will not last past the next election!
