A Los Angeles County jury issued a big win for a prosecutor fed-up with the alleged retaliatory management of soft-on-crime District Attorney George Gascón in the amount of $1.5 million as others have lined up with similar accusations.
Having faced down two recall efforts and now up against at least a dozen lawsuits from his prosecutors, the only group of people who have seemed consistently satisfied with Gascón’s performance as DA have been criminals. Monday, one of those prosecutors chalked up a victory in court after the jury for the Los Angeles Superior Court awarded her $1.5 million in damages after she claimed to have been transferred to a “dead-end job” for speaking out against her boss.
In October 2021, prosecutor Shawn Randolph filed suit after she was removed from her position as supervisor of the juvenile division and put in charge of the parole division in February of that year. The transfer was considered a demotion and, in the same suit, she alleged to have been denied opportunities to lead branch divisions in Long Beach and Torrance despite their availability and considering herself the top candidate.
Randolph charged that the motivation behind Gascón’s decisions was retaliatory because she had spoken out against the DA’s soft-on-crime policies, in particular his reduction of charges against minors accused of violent crimes. As the suit stated, “In essence, plaintiff was directed not to file strike offenses against juveniles and this directive creates a false and misleading description to the court of the crimes that were actually committed.”
“I’m grateful to the jury. I’m thrilled,” she said outside the courtroom Monday. “It’s wonderful to be vindicated after two years of having gone through this.”
Deputy District Attorney John Hatami, who has long been a vocal critic of Gascón’s performance, took to social media Monday and wrote, “George Gascón said he didn’t need any experience being a prosecutor because the DA is only a manager. Well George, you are a horrible DA and an even worse manager. You have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars with 17 total lawsuits against you.”
“You called DDA’s ‘internal terrorists,’ ‘unfit,’ ‘delusional,’ and ‘hyper partisan,'” he went on. “You created a hostile work environment and forced DDA’s to commit unethical and illegal actions in court,” before adding, “You truly don’t deserve to be the LA DA.”
You called DDA’s “internal terrorists,” “unfit,” “delusional,” and “hyper partisan.” You created a hostile work environment and forced DDA’s to commit unethical and illegal actions in court.
— jonathanhatami (@jonathanhatami) March 7, 2023
Meanwhile, DDA John Lewin, who had worked in the Major Crime Division before he too was transferred to a lower position for criticizing Gascón, said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “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!” Lewin exclaimed.
Gascón’s office provided its own statement to the press and noted, “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. 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. We will consider our options over the next several days.”
With nearly 20 other similar cases filed against the DA, Randolph’s attorney Beth Correia said outside the courtroom that the first victory “shined a light on what’s been happening in the DA’s Office” and those awaiting their own trials should “hang tough.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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