Ex-Ventura County Prosecutor Loses Civil Rights Claim

A former Ventura County prosecutor who sued his previous bosses alleging that he was unlawfully demoted for backing a rival candidate for district attorney has lost his case in federal court.

Adam Pearlman had alleged in his March 2003 suit that his civil rights were violated as a result of his being reassigned in retaliation for exercising his rights of free speech.

At the time, Pearlman, who was transferred to the county’s Child Custody Division, was seeking reinstatement as a criminal prosecutor.

He alleged that after seven years as a prosecutor, he was suddenly transferred as punishment for backing former prosecutor Ron Bamieh in the March 2002 election for district attorney. Greg Totten, the handpicked successor of then retiring Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury, won by a significant margin.

Bradbury, Totten and the county were all named as defendants in Pearlman’s lawsuit.

In her Feb. 12 summary judgment, made public Thursday, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer ruled that Bradbury did not violate Pearlman’s 1st Amendment rights when he transferred the prosecutor to the Child Custody Division.

Fischer found that, as a senior prosecutor, Pearlman was a “policymaker,” one who spoke and carried out his duties in accordance with his office’s policies and therefore “the requirement of commonality of political purpose and support is reasonable.”

As a result, Fischer, quoting case law in her 14-page ruling, stated that “if a public employee is a ‘policymaker,’ the employee may be fired for political reasons without offending the Constitution of the United States.”

Pearlman could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

Oxnard attorney Alan Wisotsky, who represented Bradbury, Totten and the county, said that it was unlikely any attempt to appeal the case would be successful.

“We’re pleased this was resolved favorably for Mr. Bradbury,” Wisotsky said. “This should be the end of it.”