Conroy Trial Put Off Until After November Election

The sexual harassment lawsuit against state Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) won’t go to trial until after the November election, in which the Orange Republican hopes to win a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a judge decided Monday.

The trial was expected to start Monday in Sacramento County Superior Court but was postponed until Nov. 18 because of crowded courtrooms and the attorneys’ busy schedules.

Conroy said he was “disappointed and outraged” that the postponement leaves the allegations unresolved as he heads into an election.

“For two years I have anxiously awaited my day in court so that I may finally be vindicated of these outrageous charges,” he said in a statement.

But Conroy’s rival in the supervisorial race, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer, questioned why Conroy’s attorney didn’t accept the next court opening--in August--if his client was so eager to get to trial.

“Mr. Conroy is trying to fool the Orange County voters into thinking he wants to face the charges of sexual harassment in court as soon as possible,” Spitzer said.

Conroy’s attorney, Dennis Murphy, said he could not go to trial in August because he needed time to prepare for a five-week trial beginning the following month.

“I simply couldn’t handle these cases back-to-back,” Murphy said. “Mickey Conroy had nothing to do with this decision. How [Spitzer] can imply this is a politically nefarious thing is beyond me.”

A former legislative intern has accused Conroy of forcing her to provide him with back rubs, hugs and kisses and to endure an atmosphere of “sexual innuendo” in Conroy’s Capitol office. Robyn Boyd, 36, claims in her suit that she was fired after complaining of harassment.

The Assembly Rules Committee determined in 1994 that Conroy and his then-chief of staff, Pete Conaty, violated the house sexual harassment policy. But Conroy, known for advocating the public paddling of graffiti vandals, has repeatedly denied Boyd’s charges.

“I was eager to have this trial over before the election, so that the voters would be able to deal with the facts of the case, not the unfounded allegations that have been printed about me,” Conroy said in a press release Monday.

Boyd’s attorney, Carolee Kilduff, said the delay is not a problem.

“November turns out to be the most convenient time,” she said.

The postponement will almost certainly play into Conroy’s effort to win a seat on the Board of Supervisors in November.

Mark Thompson, Conroy’s campaign manager, said he was confident that Conroy would have won the case. But he noted that the delay avoids weeks of potentially negative media coverage.