A federal judge has dismissed 15 of the 19 claims in a former prosecutor’s discrimination lawsuit against the Marin County District Attorney’s Office.
However, U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar denied Marin County’s motion to dismiss all of the claims. Tigar only ruled on whether the claims meet minimal legal standards to proceed, not whether the allegations are true.
The African American plaintiff, Cameron Jones, filed the complaint in November 2022, about six months after he was fired. Jones began working for the office’s misdemeanor unit in April 2021.
Jones alleges that around June 2021, the supervisor of the misdemeanor unit, Shari Goldman, disagreed with a decision he made on a case. Jones alleges that Goldman subsequently told District Attorney Lori Frugoli and Chief Deputy District Attorney Rosemary Slote that he “could not be trusted.”
In February 2022, Goldman went on maternity leave, and Tom McCallister assumed her role as head of the misdemeanor unit. Jones alleges that McCallister and Slote began assigning him more cases than his white female colleagues.
In April 2022, Jones received a negative performance evaluation signed by both Frugoli and Slote. Jones says he raised concerns about his evaluation and “feelings of disparate treatment in the office.”
Jones filed a complaint with the Marin County Human Resources Department. He elected to move forward with arbitration before requesting an official investigation. Slote, on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office, declined to participate.
On June 22, 2022, Jones was interviewed by a third-party investigation firm and then fired.
Jones’ lawsuit seeks $18 million in general and punitive damages. It names the defendants as Frugoli, Slote, Goldman, McCallister, the District Attorney’s Office and Marin County.
In an earlier interview with the Independent Journal, Slote said an independent investigation conducted by the Oppenheimer Investigations Group found by a “preponderance of evidence” that she did not give Jones a negative review or fire him because of race or gender.
“Mr. Jones’ allegations are false,” Slote said.
Tigar, in his ruling, found that Jones’ complaint lacks a factual basis for claims against some of the defendants.
In his complaint, Jones alleges that his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and his 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law were violated.
Tigar ruled that Jones met the standard to file a claim that Frugoli and Slote violated his First Amendment rights. But the judge added that Jones “fails to plead any facts connecting Goldman and McCallister to this alleged deprivation of his First Amendment rights.”
As a result, Tigar dismissed a claim of retaliation for exercising free speech against Goldman and McCallister “with leave to amend,” which left the door open for Jones to provide additional facts to bolster his argument.
The judge gave Jones 21 days to file an amended complaint, and that deadline has passed.
In his ruling, Tigar noted that Jones consented to the dismissal of his fourth, sixth, seventh, 10th through 16th, 18th and 19th claims. All but two of the claims were against “all defendants.”
Tigor declined to dismiss four claims against Frugoli and Slote: two claims of retaliation for exercising free speech; a claim of wrongful termination in violation of the 14th Amendment; and a claim of retaliation in violation of the California Labor Code. The judge also let stand two claims against Marin County and the District Attorney’s Office.
“The court’s ruling affirms the county’s view that Mr. Jones’ claims lack merit,” Marin County Counsel Brian Washington said. “The county is optimistic that the few remaining claims will be resolved promptly.”
Washington said he expects the county to file a motion for summary judgment later this year, after both sides conduct discovery.
Cabral Bonner, one of the attorneys representing Jones, said, “Ultimately, the case will establish that the county’s conduct was wrong.”
Frugoli declined to comment on Tigor’s decision.
A related federal lawsuit remains active. Otis Bruce, another former African American prosecutor in the Marin office, alleges, among other claims, that he faced retaliation after he challenged the firing of Jones. Bruce was the assistant district attorney, the second highest position in the office.