Arguments paint dueling views of El Dorado public defender’s office

SACRAMENTO -- Attorneys trying a wrongful termination case used their opening statements to paint very different pictures of the El Dorado County public defender's office Monday.

Former deputy public defender Todd E. Jones sued the county, Public Defender Teri M. Monterosso and her chief deputy, Timothy R. Pappas, in 2017, saying she attempted to "purge the office of the male trial attorneys that preceded her." Jones' claims include retaliation, wrongful termination, defamation and gender-based discrimination. Jones v. County of El Dorado, 17CV02128 (E.D. Cal., filed Oct. 13, 2017).

Arguing for the county, C. Christine Maloney portrayed Jones as a lazy, volatile employee rebelling against a boss who was brought in to establish order in an underperforming office. On several occasions, the partner with Maloney Employment Law in Mill Valley pointed out that Monterosso is the first woman to hold that job in El Dorado County.

"Let's be honest, public defenders have busy schedules," Maloney said. "It's a high volume area of law. It is not for everyone."

Maloney told the six jurors and two alternates -- evenly split between men and women -- she would show Jones frequently left work at 2 p.m., attended San Francisco Giants baseball games during work hours, and engaged in open hostility toward Monterosso after she made understandable efforts to get him to improve.

Jones' attorney, Douglas E. Watts, made it clear he intended to make the case about Monterosso. The partner with Watts Law Offices in Folsom described her as a vindictive and incompetent boss who caused a mass exodus of attorneys from the office. He said he intended to show she was hired through an irregular process over more experienced applicants.

"What the evidence will tell you, and my client will certainly tell you, is that she was not the most qualified," Watts said. "She was not qualified."

Two pieces of evidence promise to become key in the trial, which is scheduled to run through Thursday in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez. One is an email Jones sent to Monterosso and other attorneys on staff in February 2017, shortly before his April resignation. In it, he urged Monterosso to improve at the "core functions" of her job and concluded, "May we all be safe and free from harm."

Jones resigned soon afterward, but Watts said he did so under duress and this should not compromise his claims.

According to Maloney, several employees took his email and a recent change in Jones' behavior as a physical threat. She said several started asking for deputies to escort them to their cars after work once Jones went on leave.

But she also portrayed the email as part of a larger pattern of disrespectful behavior toward Monterosso since she was given the job in 2013.

"Who talks to their boss in that language?" Maloney asked the jury.

Watts said the email, combined with previous attempts to manufacture a false paper trail, led Jones to the correct conclusion that Monterosso was trying to get rid of him and he would likely soon be fired. He called the wording "unfortunate," adding Jones is a devoted single father and Buddhist with no record of violent behavior. A female coworker laughed at attempts by Jones and Pappas, her deputy, to get her to say Jones was threatening, Watts said.

The other piece of evidence is a letter of no confidence in Monterosso signed by Jones and several other attorneys in the office. Watts said the letter was a legitimate attempt to draw attention to her mismanagement, which he said was leading to defendants receiving inadequate representation.

"Every single person who signed that letter in 2015 no longer works for the public defender's office," Watts said. "That's not by accident."

Maloney countered the letter was an attempt to undermine Monterosso by an old boys network she dubbed "the resistance."

"The resistance didn't like that," Maloney said. "When she came in there were no policies. There was no order at all."

Maloney also said Monterosso was hired by "an all-male panel" over multiple male internal candidates. Monterosso, Maloney continued, has 30 years of experience, including in the Los Angeles public defender's office.