D.A. Can’t Afford to Lose More Credibility

If ever a district attorney needed a credibility transfusion, it’s Orange County’s Tony Rackauckas. I’d start him off with about 500 cc’s daily.

A district attorney isn’t doing his job if he doesn’t have critics, but Rackauckas has collected some from unexpected places during five years in office: a county grand jury, the state attorney general and a former spokeswoman who once showered praise on him but now is suing him. They’re in addition to other current and former employees who say he has let friendships or political considerations affect the way he does his job.

What Rackauckas could use, as 2004 dawns, are a couple of high-profile cases that show beyond a doubt that he operates a tough but fair shop. In short, that he’s a high-minded prosecutor seeking justice and going where the facts lead.

Instead ...

Instead, he’s got two potentially explosive cases on the docket, each already laden with angry assertions from the defendants about Rackauckas’ motivations. In a less suspect regime, denunciations from defendants accused of major crimes would be considered compliments.

But, in keeping with the off-kilter nature of Rackauckas’ tenure, defendants in the two cases already can claim partial legal victories. While not indicative of guilt or innocence, the victories bolster their arguments that the cases against them aren’t as advertised.

And if either avoids conviction -- the doomsday scenario for Rackauckas -- they will be screaming about how and why the cases were prosecuted.

One of the cases is a double murder that occurred nearly 16 years ago in Los Angeles County. Michael Goodwin says his belated prosecution is the result of Rackauckas’ friendship with Collene Campbell, the sister and sister-in-law of the two victims, Mickey Thompson and his wife, Trudy. Goodwin says Orange County doesn’t have legal jurisdiction to bring charges, and a state appellate court issued preliminary findings last year that tilt toward Goodwin. A final ruling is expected within two months.

Prosecutors conceded several months ago that they now know a gun once belonging to Goodwin -- and repeatedly cited by them as the likely murder weapon -- wasn’t involved in the crime. Goodwin, in jail for two years awaiting trial, cites that as but one of many faulty aspects of the case.

The other case, involving the alleged rape of an unconscious 16-year-old girl at a 2002 Newport Beach party, is scheduled for trial this spring. Three teenage boys, including the son of an Orange County assistant sheriff described as a friend and past supporter of Rackauckas, are charged with rape.

However, the trial judge dismissed additional charges that two of the boys inflicted great bodily harm on the girl and that they used a pool cue as a deadly weapon in the alleged assault. Aside from greatly reducing the potential sentences in case of conviction, the dismissals raise questions about the prosecutors’ depiction of the assault.

The assistant contends in court filings that the district attorney is prosecuting the case “to counter widespread complaints that [Rackauckas] is cutting deals for his political pals.”

Thus, Rackauckas is accused of pursuing one case out of friendship and the other to prove that he doesn’t show favoritism.

Most district attorneys could brush that aside. Rackauckas, however, has made a messy bed for himself and is now sleeping in it. Worse yet, he’s taken credibility hits in both cases on what his office said were key elements of the crimes.

Tony Rackauckas is leaking credibility. He can’t afford to lose any more.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. He can be reached at (714) 966-7821, at dana

.parsons@latimes.com or at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.