Attorneys argue in suit against county judge
Attorneys on opposite sides of the lawsuit from a former Humboldt County deputy public defender against a sitting county judge clashed Tuesday afternoon over the plaintiff’s request for additional information regarding the defense’s witness interviews.
Representing Rory Kalin — who is suing Humboldt County Judge Gregory Elvine-Kreis, Humboldt County, the Humboldt County Public Defender’s Office, Public Defender Luke Brownfield and former Public Defender Marek Reavis — Elias Fakhoury said that a witness made a statement, although it was not a deposition, that the other witnesses had met to “get their story straight,” before offering statements to the police, and that the plaintiff has a right to know who was interviewed by the defense’s investigation and when the interview took place because of that comment.
“It’s relevant because it’s basic, fundamental information,” Fakhoury said.
Patrik Griego, representing Elvine-Kreis, disagreed. He argued the request would violate work product privilege — which allows attorneys to withhold documents in anticipation of litigation, although it does not protect underlying facts — and prejudice the case against the defense because “it’s simply making things up.”
Judge Ann Moorman landed somewhere between the parties and said she was inclined to believe the defense should provide the names of who they interviewed, but not the dates. Griego will provide those names to Moorman at a later date.
The suit stems from a 2019 Memorial Day party on Lake Shasta organized by Deputy Public Defender Luke Brownfield and his wife. In a complaint, Kalin alleges that Elvine-Kreis became belligerently drunk, used a slur during the party, flirted with his wife and pushed him into the lake, fully dressed with his phone and medication in his pockets.
The complaint notes Kalin was hospitalized for about nine days as a result of the extreme anxiety caused by the events, and after coming back from medical leave, faced bullying, demotions and disrespect from Reavis, his boss at the time, which culminated in Kalin’s eventual firing by Reavis.
Moorman also brought up un
certainty with the trial date, noting significant amounts of discovery that needed to be collected, including expert witness statements and at least a dozen depositions, before the Jan. 6 trial.
“I don’t think the January trial date is out of the question, but you’ll have your work cut out for you,” Moorman told the attorneys.
The next case management conference was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 12. The county departments Kalin is suing are represented by Melissa Currier.