Another top prosecutor is suing Los Angeles County for alleged retaliation and a demotion after complaining about District Attorney George Gascón’s controversial policies.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Victoria Adams said she was demoted in May from her position as assistant district attorney of special operations to assistant district attorney of special projects.
“Plaintiff went from supervising hundreds of attorneys and other staff in multiple bureaus to supervising one person — a secretary,” the lawsuit states. “Even though the plaintiff holds the title of assistant district attorney of Special Projects, in reality all but one project assigned to plaintiff are inactive, theoretical or obsolete.”
Additionally, Adams has no oversight of cases, provides no input on any policy matters and, essentially, conducts only “busy work” or clerical work, according to the civil complaint.
The lawsuit is among more than dozen filed by other prosecutors who similarly allege they also have faced retaliation and demotions from Gascón for opposing his policies.
‘Shameful and dangerous’
“These lawsuits speak to George Gascón’s incompetence and lack of leadership,” Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, a union representing Los Angeles County prosecutors, said Thursday. “They prove that he’d rather be flattered than challenged. That he intentionally ignores the law to advance his ideology. That he doesn’t listen to experienced prosecutors. That he promotes political allies who serve him while punishing career civil servants who serve the public. And that he demonizes those who disagree with him.
“He is out of touch with what is going on in Los Angeles,” Siddall added. “It’s shameful and dangerous. And we’re all paying for it.”
The District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the lawsuit because it involves personnel matters.
Adams began working for the District Attorney’s Office in 1985 and was the only senior executive with management experience under former District Attorney Jackie Lacey who was added to Gascón’s executive team after he took office in December 2020.
The lawsuit says Gascón also appointed several political supporters as special advisers to his leadership team, causing some turmoil.
“There was no management structure or agenda prepared before or during leadership team meetings,” claims the suit. “Nothing substantive was discussed. The chain of command collapsed, and inexperienced political appointees were creating a chaotic environment that exists to this day.”.
Disparaged by leadership team
The lawsuit alleges that during weekly leadership meetings the political appointees would engage in disparaging discussions, speaking negatively about prosecutors and describing the Association of Deputy District Attorneys as evil.
“Friends of the special advisors who worked as deputy public defenders would complain about a line deputy district attorney, and the complaint would end up in a transfer or other discipline of that line deputy district attorney,” the suit says. “Leadership in the office was creating a dysfunctional organization with no rules and no interest in public safety.”
Despite the chaos, Adams reportedly attempted to mentor and educate leadership team members in the practices and structure of the District Attorney’s Office.
The lawsuit also states within hours of being sworn into office on Dec. 7, 2020, Gascón gave head deputies, directors, and assistant district attorneys less than two hours to read his new directives and ask questions.
“It quickly became apparent to plaintiff that Gascón was not interested in feedback, the law, or opposing views on his policies,” the suit says. “The policies, right or wrong, were implemented and the complaints were ignored.”
In early January 2021, Gascón offered Adams the position of chief of staff, purportedly telling her he had “checked around” and found that she was truthful, fair and ethical. Adams accepted the position and continued her duties as assistant district attorney, supervising three bureaus.
Beginning in early 2021, Adams began complaining to Gascón that one of his directives effectively eliminated the ability of prosecutors to charge juveniles with some crimes, no matter how violent the offense, and that it violated local, state and federal laws, the lawsuit says
Adams also reportedly told Gascón that prosecutors were refusing to comply with the directive, but he refused to take action against them.
Instead, the suit states, Gascón punished Director of Specialized Prosecutions Maria Ramirez and Juvenile Division Head Deputy Shawn Randolph for refusing to enforce the directive, the suit says.
Defense attorney brought on
Another conflict arose in early 2021, when Gascón announced the hiring of criminal defense attorney Lawrence Middleton to investigate officer-involved shooting cases that Lacey had declined to prosecute.
Middleton was named a special prosecutor with a four-year contract, with a first-year salary of $750,000 and $1.5 million for the remaining years, according to the lawsuit. He also was to receive a support staff member, an investigator, and assistance from the Justice System Integrity Division, which was supervised by Adams.
Adams informed then Interim Chief Deputy Joseph Iniguez that Middleton’s contract violated state, county and federal laws regarding conflict of interest, corruption, waste, cronyism, and mismanagement of public funds.
“After making her disclosures, plaintiff was ordered into a meeting with Gascón and Iniguez, where she was told not to concern herself with Middleton’s operation because non-lawyer Dorinne Jordan, would handle all issues concerning Middleton’s employment and that Middleton would report directly to Gascón,” says the suit. “Plaintiff was further ordered to give Middleton whatever hewanted.”
In July 2021, Gascón removed Adams from her position as chief of staff and gave the job to Iniguez, who a year earlier was a deputy district attorney with no management experience, the suit says.
However, Adams continued to complain about conflicts between the law and Gascón’s special directives.
High-profile case backfires
In April 2022, Adams confronted Gascón’s administration about its mishandling of the Hannah Tubbs case, which the district attorney has since admitted was improper.
Tubbs, a transgender woman, had pleaded guilty in January 2022 to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in 2014, when Tubbs was a boy who was two weeks shy of turning 18 years old. Separately, Tubbs is accused of sexually molesting a 4-year-old girl in 2013, and of robbery and murder in 2019.
Based on a Gascón directive, the prosecutor was not permitted to request that Tubbs’ sexual assault case be transferred to adult court. The judge in the case sentenced Tubbs to two years in juvenile hall, which was the maximum that could be imposed in the juvenile court based on the charges and Tubbs’ guilty plea.
The prosecutor for the case was removed after attempting to inform Gascón’s administration that Tubbs was a threat to public safety and might possibly be released, the lawsuit says.
After the original prosecutor was taken off the case, Adams informed current Chief Deputy Sharon Woo that a new prosecutor would have insufficient information to inform the court of Tubbs’ prior criminal history.
Subsequently, on May 23, Gascón demoted Adams to her current position.
“Plaintiff has been banished onto an island where she has no meaningful work to perform, no supervisory responsibility, and no work-related communication with anyone in the office except her secretary,” the suit says. “Plaintiff will never recover from this completely humiliating demotion, which will be the tragic end of her dedicated and accomplished nearly four-decade-long history of service to the County of Los Angeles.”