A judge on Friday significantly increased Orange County’s financial liability in the Tracy Miller case, awarding $1,542,215 in attorneys’ fees on top of a San Diego jury’s $3 million verdict in favor of the former Orange County senior assistant district attorney.
The June jury verdict found that Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and his former second-in-command, Judge Shawn Nelson, harassed and retaliated against Miller after she sought to protect younger female prosecutors who reported sexual harassment by former supervisor Gary Logalbo. The jury also imposed $25,000 in punitive damages against Spitzer personally.
The attorneys’ fee award is a standard, legally authorized component of civil rights litigation and reflects the extensive legal work required to bring the case to trial.
“This ruling reinforces that civil rights laws have real meaning and real consequences,” said John D. Barnett, attorney for Miller. “The attorneys’ fee award recognizes the extraordinary effort required to hold powerful public officials accountable and ensures that victims of retaliation are not deterred from seeking justice because of the cost of litigation.”
Both Miller’s $3 million judgment and the $1.54 million attorneys’ fee award will be paid from Orange County’s general fund. The county’s own defense costs have not yet been disclosed.
Miller’s lawsuit is the first of at least five active cases filed by current and former female prosecutors alleging sexual harassment by Logalbo and retaliation by Spitzer after the misconduct came to light. Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the remaining cases have said the Miller verdict has already had a significant impact.
In June, a jury awarded Miller $3 million in damages, along with $25,000 in punitive damages personally against Spitzer, after weeks of testimony and legal arguments that placed one of California’s most powerful prosecutors under intense public scrutiny.
The verdict found that Spitzer, Nelson and the County of Orange retaliated against Miller after she supported female colleagues who reported sexual harassment and refused to tolerate what she described as a culture of misogyny, racism and political corruption inside the district attorney’s office.
“Millions and millions and millions of dollars of Orange County taxpayer money has been spent defending this man. And at some point somebody’s got to say enough,” Miller told the Davis Vanguard in a phone interview following the verdict.
She added, “I’m happy that the jury just didn’t vindicate me, but there are over a hundred people that left that office early and several people he fired and got their jobs back. And I’m happy that they finally had some justice. This verdict wasn’t just about me, it was about all of the people that have been hurt by him and them.”
Miller, who served more than two decades in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, said she was pushed into early retirement after she defended a young female prosecutor who reported being sexually harassed by Logalbo, a longtime close friend and former best man to Spitzer.
According to Miller, when she reported the misconduct to Spitzer and Nelson, she was met with ridicule rather than action. “They called her a chicken,” Miller said, “and said there were no real victims in this case.”
From that point forward, Miller said she became the target of retaliation. She testified that she was stripped of responsibilities, isolated, and subjected to repeated humiliation by senior leadership.
“He tried to fire my best friend in the office,” Miller said of Spitzer. “And he tried to take my duties away. It was consistent, constant, and pervasive.”
The nearly four-week trial included testimony from sitting judges and senior attorneys. Spitzer testified for four and a half days. Miller said his courtroom behavior reflected the conduct she experienced in private meetings while working under him. “I had to do those meetings alone for years,” she said. “This time I had a judge and a lawyer to help me.”
The case also exposed concerns about Spitzer’s conduct in capital prosecutions. Evidence presented at trial showed that Spitzer interfered in at least two murder cases. In one, the Jamon Buggs case, a court found that Spitzer violated the California Racial Justice Act after making a racist remark during internal deliberations over whether to seek the death penalty.
According to court records, Spitzer said that many Black men only date white women “to get ahead.” The comment was made during discussions about seeking the death penalty against Buggs, a Black man convicted of murdering a white couple, and ultimately led to the death penalty being taken off the table.
“He put politics before justice,” Miller said. “He put himself above the people he was sworn to represent.”
Miller said Orange County officials failed to hold Spitzer accountable, continuing to support him publicly and financially even after a court of appeal found that he violated the Racial Justice Act.
“Crime is down, so it doesn’t matter,” Miller said, recalling a statement she attributed to Supervisor Wagner. “But crime wasn’t down for those victims whose cases were compromised because of his misconduct.”
Following the verdict, Miller said she heard from hundreds of prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges who expressed relief that someone had successfully challenged what they described as long-standing abuse within the district attorney’s office.
“So many people told me, ‘I can’t talk to you. He’ll retaliate against me,’” Miller said. “That’s why this verdict matters. It gives them hope. It gives them a voice.”
Barnett said the outcome was unprecedented. “This has never happened before,” he said. “This is the first time an elected district attorney has been taken to court by one of his top deputies and lost. It’s a testament to Tracy’s strength and integrity.”
Since leaving the district attorney’s office in late 2022, Miller has started a communications and consulting firm and continues to support whistleblowers and others navigating public institutions.
“This wasn’t just about me,” Miller said. “It was about over a hundred people who were pushed out, fired, or silenced. People who were called unethical, corrupt, and liars by a man who’s none of those things himself. He’s the one who lied. And now, finally, a jury saw that.”
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