Ex-deputy defender claims unfair firing
Complaint outlines allegations of assault, racism at Lake Shasta party
A former deputy public defender who accused a county judge of anti-Semitic behavior at a Memorial Day party in 2019 has filed a second suit saying he was wrongfully terminated as a result of events that transpired that day.
Attorneys for former Deputy Public Defender Rory Kalin filed a complaint this past fall against Humboldt County, the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office, Public Defender Marek Reavis, Assistant Public Defender Luke Brownfield and Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis stating Kalin faced adverse employment actions and wrongful termination after being humiliated and assaulted by Elvine-Kreis at a Memorial Day party in 2019.
Kalin consistently received above-average performance reviews from his superiors since starting at the Public Defender’s Office in October 2017 and was promoted twice within the span of 13 months, with the most recent promotion on Nov. 4, 2018, according to the complaint.
Problems began to arise when Kalin went on medical leave between April 11 and April 22, 2019, after being struck on the head with a golf ball.
“During this approximately 11-day leave, Defendant Reavis openly discussed and mocked Plaintiff’s medical condition in front of two of Plaintiff’s col
leagues, Ms. (Rosemary) Deck and Brie Bennett,” the complaint states. “Additionally, in contrast to his doctor’s orders, Defendant Reavis still required Plaintiff to prepare his calendar and check in on cases during his leave.”
Upon Kalin’s return, the complaint states Reavis assigned Deck and Bennett to monitor Kalin during court hearings and report back their observations.
On May 25, Kalin and his wife attended a party at the Antler’s RV Park and Campground in Lake Shasta thrown by his supervisor, Brownfield, and Brownfield’s wife, both of who had a close relationship with Elvine-Kreis and his family, according to the complaint.
Neither Brownfield nor Kalin’s other colleagues stepped in when ElvineKreis became drunk and began to harass Kalin, calling him “Jew boy,” asking Brownfield “Why haven’t you fired this guy yet?,” flirting with Kalin’s and others’ wives, and ultimately pushing Kalin, fully-clothes and with sensitive items in his pocket like his phone and medication, off the boat, according to the complaint.
Kalin “attempted to play the incident off by keeping to himself and sitting quietly” for fear of retaliation and spent the rest of the night in his tent where he suffered a panic attack that “forced him to increase the dose of his anxiety medication,” the complaint states.
At that point, the complaint states Elvine-Kreis began to ask Kalin’s wife, “Where is your girlfriend?” and despite a request not to approach Kalin, went to his tent and offered him money for the damaged items in his pockets.
“Plaintiff did not come out of his tent and politely declined taking money from Defendant ElvineKreis,” the complaint states. “Defendant ElvineKreis left upset.”
Two to three weeks after the incident, sometime between June 6 and June 14, Kalin was unexpectedly called into a meeting with Reavis and Brownfield for an impromptu performance evaluation, the complaint states.
Kalin was demoted to a lesser position with lower pay at that meeting based on “critiques that Defendant Reavis allegedly, and without reason,” got from judicial figures about Kalin’s performance in court.
When Kalin asked why he wasn’t being given a chance to defend himself or improve upon the points of critique, the complaint states Reavis “became very angry and agitated and responded to Plaintiff by yelling at him and telling him ‘This is what I am telling you!’ and ended the meeting abruptly.”
Kalin was hospitalized for about nine days as a result of the extreme anxiety caused by the events and his father communicated to the Public Defender’s Office that Kalin needed to take a temporary medical leave.
The complaint states Reavis began to harass Kalin while he was on leave, “inquiring into his medical condition on a daily basis” and making “false statements regarding (Kalin’s) medical leave” to his colleagues, eventually causing Kalin to contact Humboldt County Human Resources.
Kalin remained on medical leave until early January 2020 and the Human Resources Department sent him an email “stating that he would be welcomed back to work” and the transition would be “easy and effortless,” according to the complaint.
On his first day back at work on Jan. 13, 2020, the complaint states Kalin was called into a meeting with Reavis and Brownfield during which the former was “extremely rude, condescending and (belittling),” saying Kalin was “no longer a valued member of their team” and that Kalin had “misconceptions about his confidence level.”
Kalin was also told he would be restricted to handling conservatorship cases, despite being told he would get a heavier felony caseload prior to the Memorial Day party, and was losing his office, instead being assigned to a secretarial station.
When Kalin objected and said a secretarial station wasn’t suitable for confidential attorney’s work and might exacerbate his medical condition, Reavis “responded by laughing and mocking” him, according to the complaint.
Human Resources told Kalin it would investigate the incident and that Kalin should contact his doctor, who put him on medical leave after the morning’s meeting exacerbated his symptoms, according to the complaint.
After reading an email from Kalin explaining the situation, the complaint states Reavis approached him and terminated him on the spot, threatening to call the police if he did not leave the office and return his keys.