A Black lawyer formerly with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has tentatively settled his racial discrimination suit against the county.
Former Deputy District Attorney Adewale Oduye said in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that his frustration with management for allegedly ignoring his pleas for reform prompted him to post a dozen essays. The writings alleged that his supervisors refused to properly deal with law enforcement misconduct and filed criminal cases against defendants he believed were not guilty.
Oduye further contended that due to his ethnicity, he was often given “crappy” cases in which plea bargains are sought by prosecutors in order to avoid losing at trial and hurting their career advancements. Oduye says he was forced to resign in 2021 because of a negative work atmosphere.
Oduye’s attorney recently filed court papers with Judge William Weinberger on April 10 notifying him of a “conditional” resolution of the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Aug. 7.
No terms were divulged.
“The plaintiff’s work experience is best described as an atmosphere fueled by fear, threats, favoritism, white boys club, the elite inner while circle, bullying and intimidation,” the suit filed in November 2021 stated.
In their previous court papers, county attorneys denied Oduye was a victim of racial discrimination.
“While plaintiff alleges various ways in which he believes supervisors intentionally discriminated against him and other African American (deputy district attorneys), plaintiff identifies no facially neutral policy — either in his complaint or in discovery — that had a disparate impact on African American DDAs such as himself,” the county lawyers wrote. “He likewise provides no statistical evidence demonstrating that any LADA policy disproportionately hindered the promotion of African American DDAs.”
Oduye’s supervisor commended him for successfully managing complex and voluminous fraud cases and for his strong work ethic, and the plaintiff admits he did not apply for promotion from grade 3 to grade 4, the county attorneys contend in their pleadings.
In his lawsuit, Oduye says he was hired in June 2008 and the interviewing panel included then-District Attorney Steve Cooley. He started at the West Covina office and was later transferred to other locations, including Van Nuys and Compton, and over time noticed an alleged pattern, the suit stated.
“There is an atmosphere of hostility and aggression towards minorities, especially African-American men and women in this work force,” the suit stated.
Oduye also believed that female attorneys who supervisors find to be the most attractive tended to get the better assignments.
Although most deputy district attorneys are encouraged to go to trial so they could move up the corporate ladder and promote, Oduye was given “the crappy felony cases” and was often forced to make plea deals to avoid losing at trial, according to the suit.
Every aspect of the job was more lenient or more favorable toward white attorneys compared to their Black counterparts, the suit alleged.