Civil rights lawsuit against county prosecutor dismissed

By James Robinson
Posted 10/23/24

 

 

After nearly two years of litigation in federal court, former Jefferson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julian St. Marie has lost on all her claims, according to court …

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Civil rights lawsuit against county prosecutor dismissed

Posted

 

 

After nearly two years of litigation in federal court, former Jefferson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julian St. Marie has lost on all her claims, according to court documents filed in late August.

St. Marie filed a 55-page lawsuit in U.S. District Court-Western District on Nov. 16, 2022, alleging sexual harassment, a hostile workplace environment, sex and age discrimination, and libel, as well as that her civil rights under the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments had been violated.

“Having considered Plaintiff Julian St. Marie’s response, Defendants’ reply, and the remaining record, the Court grants summary judgment dismissal of all of Plaintiff’s claims,” United Stated District Court Judge the David Estudillo wrote in his Aug. 29 order.

“While the court’s ruling with respect to the government’s immunity is disappointing, I’m grateful to have moved past a difficult chapter in my life,” wrote St. Marie in an email to the Leader. “My current practice defending individual rights turns out to be deeply rewarding. And I get to practice in accordance with my values. I continue to work for Jefferson County where appointed counsel is needed.”

“I appreciate the current professionalism of the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and normalized relations in an adversarial system,” St. Marie wrote. “In the end, the court’s ruling is good for the citizens of Jefferson County and I’m good with that.”

In addition to dismissing all of St. Marie’s claims, Estudillo denied her request for $5 million in sanctions and attorney’s fees.

St. Marie’s civil suit followed her termination in May 2021. The lawsuit named Jefferson County and the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office as defendants. Six other county employees, and their spouses, were also individually named as co-defendants.

In addition to the county and the prosecutor’s office, the other defendants listed in the lawsuit at the time included Jefferson County Prosecutor James Kennedy and Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Ashcraft.

“The office has been completely vindicated by this ruling,” Kennedy said in a press release. “It has been our position since day one that the allegations against us were nothing more than a work of fiction. It is a relief that this case, which has hounded members of this office and their families for nearly two years is finally over.”

Kennedy said it took along time to play out because of negotiations between both sides, since the county had some counter claims, which were also dismissed. “The parties worked out a settlement where neither side would appeal,” Kennedy wrote in an email reply to a request for information. “[D]ue to the scheduling of attorneys we were not able to finalize the settlement until now.” 

St. Marie, who was 57 at the time she filed suit, is currently a Port Townsend-based attorney in private practice. She served as a chief deputy prosecuting attorney and deputy prosecuting attorney for Jefferson County from June 2015 through May 2021.

In the suit, St. Marie claimed she was demoted from chief deputy prosecuting attorney to deputy prosecuting attorney in March 2019, when Kennedy, the newly elected prosecutor, hired Ashcraft as the chief criminal deputy.

In the lawsuit, St. Marie called Ashcraft “lesser qualified” and noted he had been a licensed attorney for less than 13 years, while she had nearly 25 years of experience.

Ashcraft’s hiring was linked to St. Marie’s claim of age discrimination. In the lawsuit, she alleged that she was “wrongfully discharged as evidenced by the county hiring a younger less experienced male and paid him more.”

According to court documents, Kennedy alleged the reasons for termination were unprofessional conduct and St. Marie’s failure to subpoena witnesses, leading to one case being dismissed in May of 2021.

St. Marie also alleged in her lawsuit that she had earlier raised concerns of an “inappropriate and unprofessional atmosphere” in the prosecutor’s office, adding the workplace was “full of sexual innuendo, inappropriate sexual gestures, and open favoritism” between other employees.

In his order, Estudillo wrote, “Plaintiff has not put forth specific evidence on the record to show that ‘severe and pervasive’ sex-based commentary created a hostile or abusive work environment.”