Metropolitan News-Enterprise: Two Deputy DAs Sue Over Alleged Whistleblower Retaliation
Two prosecutors are suing Los Angeles County for whistleblower retaliation, claiming they are being penalized for refusing to adhere to unlawful policies instituted by District Attorney George Gascón.
The plaintiffs, in separate actions filed Wednesday, are Head Deputy Shawn Randolph and Assistant Head Deputy Lesley Klein Sonnenberg. Each is represented by Beverly Hills attorney Gregory W. Smith and others in his office.
At the time Gascón took office on Dec. 7, Randolph was head deputy in charge of the office’s Juvenile Division, supervising about 50 attorneys and 50 laypersons. On his first day in the job, he issued a spate of special directives, one of which, 20-09, concerned the prosecution of juvenile offenders.
Randolph balked at following the directive and in retaliation, she alleges, she was transferred to the Parole Division, which her complaint describes as “a dead-end position for a Head Deputy.”
