The veteran city prosecutor filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that his boss, Los Angeles City Attorney Heidi Feldstein Soto, retaliated against him for reporting “violations of the law and ethics.”
Michelle McGinnis, who served as the city attorney’s criminal chief until April, alleged in the lawsuit that Feldstein Soto made decisions about who to prosecute based on “personal relationships” and “perceived political interest.”
At one point, Feldstein Soto told McGinnis she wanted the office to stop prosecuting corporate defendants, according to the complaint, and at another point, Feldstein Soto targeted only protesters for prosecution without following proper law enforcement procedures, the complaint said.
“When McGinnis protested that the firm was legally and ethically prohibited from making such charging decisions, she was subject to a series of adverse employment actions and ultimately was placed on administrative leave, removed from the firm and barred from future contact with firm colleagues and employees,” Matthew McNicholas, an attorney whose firm represents McGinnis, wrote in the lawsuit.
McNicholas, in a statement, said McGinnis faced a “barrage of retaliation” after reporting a variety of issues within the agency, including grant misuse, discriminatory treatment of coworkers and “inappropriate drinking” in the workplace by Feldstein Soto and Chief Deputy City Attorney Dennis Mills.
According to the lawsuit, on April 22, McGinnis was escorted out of the building in front of his coworkers, forced to hand over his laptop and placed on administrative leave.
McGinnis, who was first hired by the city in 1993, is seeking at least $1 million from the city for economic and non-economic damages and defamation.
Feldstein Soto aides did not immediately respond to The Times’ inquiries about the allegations laid out in the complaint, which is a first step before a lawsuit is filed.
The allegations could pose a serious political threat to Feldstein Soto, who is less than halfway through her first four-year term when she is elected in 2022. Soto has already faced criticism for her decision to sue a journalist who obtained LAPD officer records and for pushing a bill to weaken the state’s public records law.
The City Attorney’s Office has a dual role of representing the city on a wide range of legal matters while also prosecuting minor crimes.
McGinnis said in his complaint that he repeatedly heard Feldstein Soto express a desire to stop prosecuting corporate defendants. Soto repeatedly said that “one misdemeanor” was responsible for the downfall of Arthur Andersen. McGinnis said he responded by providing Feldstein Soto with memos outlining “proper” legal grounds for prosecuting corporate defendants to ensure the city complied with the law.
In a separate case, Feldstein Soto directed McGinnis to prosecute people he believed to have seen on video at a protest late last year outside the West Side home of an “Israel lobbyist,” according to the complaint. The complaint does not identify the lobbyist or anyone at the protest.
According to the lawsuit, McGinnis told Feldstein Soto that the case needed to be investigated by law enforcement first and warned that immediate action would “compromise ultimate prosecution.”
Feldstein Soto also issued a statement saying certain cases should not be prosecuted because they would have a “prejudicial effect.” [her] “He has no intention of pursuing a political career,” the lawsuit alleges.
McGinnis is one of several employees who have filed lawsuits alleging they were retaliated against for reporting misconduct at Feldstein Soto’s firm.
In January, Deputy City Attorney David Bozanich filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages, alleging he was retaliated against by higher-ups after he reported city officials for violating federal policy on digital evidence retention. Bozanich said he was punished for engaging in “protected whistleblower disclosure activities.”
The city attorney’s office dismissed Bozanic’s complaint in February, and he still has several weeks to file a response.
In April, another employee at Feldstein Soto’s office filed a lawsuit alleging she was retaliated against for reporting racist behavior. Administrative Coordinator Sean C. Tyler accused the office of “unequal treatment” in hiring and promotions.
Tyler, who is also a whistleblower, is seeking $10 million in damages. He says in his lawsuit that he was hired to work in the company’s data center on Jan. 25, but his offer was rescinded about two weeks later, after he had already accepted the position and started work.
Tyler said in his filing that he also raised concerns that Feldstein Soto’s office was not complying with laws regulating law enforcement access to classified information.
Tyler, who still works for the city attorney’s office, confirmed to The Times that he filed the lawsuit but declined to comment further.
Of the three allegations, Ms. McGinnis’s is by far the most detailed: Her lawyers said she emailed Feldstein Soto a draft memo in February about “conflicts of interest and ethical considerations” intended to ensure compliance with ethics rules.
According to the lawsuit, Feldstein Soto requested a meeting with McGinnis a few days later. During the meeting, Feldstein Soto “became enraged and slammed the table,” yelled, and “made statements along the lines of, ‘How dare you accuse me of this,'” the lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, McGinnis was criticized by his superiors in front of his colleagues, accused of incompetence and was subject to intense scrutiny.
McGinnis also alleged that at one point, Feldstein Soto instructed her to “remove officers from criminal matters.” In the complaint, McGinnis did not name the officers, but said she believed Feldstein Soto gave her that instruction because she had a pre-existing relationship with the officers or the company.