In November 2020, whistleblowers alerted San Diego County about problems in its public defender’s office. The warning came two years before a jury awarded millions in damages to an ex-employee earlier this month in his wrongful termination suit, KPBS has learned.
At least two whistleblowers filed complaints with San Diego County’s watchdog arm, the Office of Ethics and Compliance (OEC), according to sources close to the county.
The whistleblowers echoed an accusation from former deputy public defender Zach Davina, who brought the wrongful termination suit against the county. Davina, who is gay, said he was asked during his tenure review hearing in September 2020 whether he was too flamboyant and animated, and whether his clients’ cases were harmed as a result.
Earlier this month, a San Diego Superior Court jury found Davina had been discriminated against for his gender expression and experienced retaliation from supervisors. The jury awarded him $2.6 million in lost wages and emotional suffering.
One of the whistleblowers also indicated that Sherry Stone, a supervisor in the office, violated conflict of interest rules. Stone sat on both Davina’s and ex-deputy public defender Michelle Reynoso’s tenure review panels.
Stone appeared on those panels after she had learned that both Davina, Reynoso along with other deputy public defenders, had complained about racially insensitive comments Stone allegedly made to a lawyer in the office. They asked that she be demoted and...
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