Harassment Suit Against Legislator Put Off

Trial of a sexual harassment lawsuit by a woman who says she was ordered to give an Orange County lawmaker hugs, kisses and back rubs has been postponed until November.

The civil lawsuit against Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) had been scheduled to be heard beginning Monday. But it was delayed until Nov. 18 because of a full court calendar.

It would have been the first time a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against a California legislator had gone to trial. Two other lawsuits recently have been settled, and one is pending.

Conroy and former Chief of Staff Pete Conaty have denied the charges of sexual harassment and retaliation.

Robyn Boyd, a 36-year-old mother of four who worked as an intern in Conroy’s Capitol office from March to December 1993, filed the suit in Sacramento County Superior Court two years ago.

Boyd says she was subjected to offensive sexual conduct, including “sexual jokes, sexual posters, pornographic materials, sexual language, leering, comments containing sexual innuendo and suggestion, sexual advances, sexual proposals, uninvited and unwelcome touching on breasts, waist, arms, back and hugs and kissing.”

Conroy, 68, a former Marine aviator known for a bill to paddle teens convicted of graffiti, is running for the Orange County Board of Supervisors in the November election. He said he was “disappointed and outraged” that the postponement leaves the allegations unresolved as he heads into an election.

But Conroy’s rival in the supervisorial race, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer, asked 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,” he said.