Orange County Sued Over Alleged Sexual Harassment in DA’s Office

A former senior assistant district attorney in the Orange County District Attorney’s office filed a lawsuit against the County of Orange.

Tracy Miller says she was forced out of her senior position after she reported alleged sexual misconduct by former Senior Assistant District Attorney Gary LoGalbo who was found dead at 57 years old in his Fullerton home last year, according to media reports.

“The fact that my client was treated the way she had been has broad implications to the larger community who are expected to be kept safe by the prosecutor’s office and when the prosecutors are not safe, the community cannot feel safe,” said one of Miller’s attorneys John Barnett of Tustin.

It was widely reported that LoGalbo was the best man at elected District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s wedding.

“There were other women that experienced this as well, and Tracy was the one who sought to protect them and to prevent retaliation against them for reporting this,” Barnett told OrangeCountyLawyers.com. “There are several other lawsuits that are pending by other women who were the victims of the actual sexual attacks.”

Currently, Miller’s litigation is in the preliminary discovery process.

“We’re having disputes over discovery and interrogatories,” Barnett said in an interview. “There are disagreements over the scope of discovery.”

Alleged Hostile Work Environment at Orange County DA Office

The lawsuit alleges that Spitzer created a hostile work environment and required race-based practices.

“This environment was created by gender-based harassment, which was hostile, intimidating, offensive, oppressive, or abusive, and continual and calculated to undermine Miller’s effectiveness and authority,” the complaint states. “This environment was created in retaliation for Miller’s refusal to adopt race-based practices, her refusal to accept race-based attorney assignments and her refusal to remain silent when race was offered as justification for Spitzer’s decision-making process.”

Barnett told OrangeCountyLawyers.com that he was surprised any of the alleged events happened and that when senior members reported it, they were punished.

“The highest-ranking law enforcement officials in the county failed to protect young prosecutors from a predator,” he said. “It indicates that there’s a complete disregard for the responsibilities of the chief law enforcement officer.”

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment but Spitzer told Voice of OC in a statement that the allegations are false and that Miller and Ebrahim Baytieh, who formerly worked in the office with Miller as a senior level prosecutor, are trying to embarrass him as he seeks re-election. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

“These two managers were indoctrinated by a 20-year prior administration that taught you how to cheat, seek revenge, and eviscerate your enemies,” Spitzer stated. “Despite good faith efforts it was impossible to change their entrenched attitudes and behavior. This is no coincidence, and the motive is clear.”

The Orange County Register reported that Baytieh was terminated for prosecutorial misconduct last year because he allegedly withheld evidence in a murder case.

“The implications are that the community writ large should be concerned because the prosecutors themselves, particularly female prosecutors against whom these attacks were made, were not safe,” Barnett added.