Rackauckas did not retaliate, federal jury finds
A federal jury Monday found that Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas did not retaliate against a veteran prosecutor for asking state authorities to investigate Rackauckas for alleged conflicts of interest.
Joseph P. Smith, whose lawsuit went to trial last month in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, said that he respected the jury’s decision and that it was time to put the case behind him.
“I felt I got a fair trial,” he said. “I have to get back to my family and my clients. That’s the end of it.”
A spokeswoman for the district attorney did not return a phone call for comment.
Smith and two other deputy district attorneys traveled to Sacramento in 2001 to ask the state attorney general to launch a probe of Rackauckas for allegedly intervening in criminal and civil cases on behalf of friends and political allies.
Then-state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer declined to file criminal charges. An Orange County grand jury ultimately issued a scathing report that took aim at Rackauckas’ conduct.
In his lawsuit, Smith alleged that Rackauckas planned to transfer him to the family support division to punish him for complaining to Lockyer. Smith quit before a transfer could occur and now has his own private practice.
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