FORE!

Inyo County had been operating without a single public defender under contract since February 29. 

Until Inyo’s Board of Supervisors made a hire on Tuesday. It approved a contract for Rory Kalin, an attorney with eight years experience who hails from Laguna Niguel according to the California Bar Assn. 

His most recent job was with Humboldt County as a Public Defender – until he was terminated from that position in 2021 after having been on medical leave for approximately one year. 

Kalin subsequently sued his former employer (Humboldt County, et. al), but that suit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court, was dismissed by Judge Ann C. Moorman in December, 2023. 

More on that circus later. 

Let’s start with the impasse between the County and the Public Defenders it formerly had under contract: Gerard Harvey and Elizabeth Corpora. 

*Another, Victoria Campbell, left late last year to take a job with the Mono County Public Defender’s office. 

The standard contract the county has offered to Public Defenders is for 180,000/year, which it says is on par with what it pays its Asst. District Attorneys. 

But as Jeremy Ibrahim explained during public comment, it’s not par. 

Out of that $180,000, you’ve got to pay support staff, rent, insurance, etc. 

These are all accessory services/items provided to DA’s as part of the package. 

“In my opinion, there needs to be more money on the table,” said Ibrahim. 

So no wonder Harvey and Corpora haven’t signed. 

Inyo County Counsel John Carl Vallejo said there are currently five conversations in progress regarding Public Defender jobs. Of those five conversations, three are stalled out, while he says “two are interested in our offer.”

While the county remains in limbo, it has to enlist private attorneys to handle public defense cases. In a phone call Wednesday, Supervisor Jeff Griffiths said legal costs paying a la carte run about double.

Ah, but this not true! Mr. Griffiths has it entirely backwards.

Rather, the court only pays $150/hour for out-of-contract work. 

So the offer on the table is a “We’ve unilaterally decided this is fair so you can take it or eat s&*t.” 

And we think you’ll take it because where else are you gonna go? 

But on the flip side, the Kalin hire may illustrate that if no one else will take you, try Inyo County if you’re looking to resurrect your career. 

Kalin had been taking on cases locally and those within the court system (Presiding Judge Steve Place was cited) say he’s been doing a good job – this according to Vallejo. 

And because Kalin signed a contract (versus being an employee like he was in Humboldt), it’s easier to move on and terminate a contract if it doesn’t work out. 

That said … the optics on the Kalin hiring are, well, inauspicious. 

Judge Moorman’s ruling published December 19, 2023 reads like a soap opera. 

According to the 26-page ruling, Kalin was hired by the Humboldt County Public Defender’s office in 2017 and promoted in 2018 after a positive performance review. 

But things took a turn for the worse in April, 2019 when of all things, he was concussed by an errant golf ball to the head. 

When he returned to work, he wasn’t right. 

In fact, he was sent home by his boss later that month due to concerns over how his injury was affecting his work performance. 

And then the narrative gets ugly, as Moorman lets everyone have a shot at the punching bag. 

“In May 2019, Judge Kaleb Cockrum expressed to Marek Reavis [Kalin’s boss] during a private conversation in Cockrum’s chambers that he had ‘grave concerns’ about plaintiff’s performance in the courtroom. Judge Cockrum described plaintiff’s professional performance as ‘horrible’ and further stated that plaintiff was not a very good lawyer. Imnmediately after this conversation, Reavis went to Judge Kelly Neel’s courtroom to speak with her. Judge Neel was a former deputy public defender. Reavis trusted her opinion. She stated that plaintiff has recently conducted voir dire in a jury trial in her courtroom and it was the worst she had ever seen. She was ‘shocked and, quite frankly, aghast at Mr. Kalin’s performance.’ In his jury selection he was ‘combative and hostile.’ She further stated that plaintiff made arguments that were entirely unsupported and badly misstated facts.”

There’s more. “Argued with judges over unimportant matters.” “Unable to read the room.” 

Shortly thereafter, it was decided Kalin would be removed from felony assignments and demoted back to his original Public Defender III status. 

But not before a Memorial Day weekend gathering with various members of the local legal community. 

And at this gathering, the animus towards Kalin appeared to mount, particularly from a Judge Elvine-Kreis who allegedly made an anti-semitic remark (which the Judge denied) towards Kalin. 

The Judge also allegedly partook in some unwanted groping of other party guests. 

Elvine-Kreis lost his bid for reelection earlier this month. 

So this apparently set in motion the basis of Kalin’s suit against Humboldt after he was terminated – discrimination, hostile work environment, etc. 

But there’s one more part to this. 

Kalin hadn’t told anybody at the office he suffered from moderate-to-severe anxiety. But when things got to the point where the bosses tried to put a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) in place, Kalin finagled for medical leave. 

And then there was haggling over when he would return, over “workplace accommodation.” 

He was finally terminated when he refused to “participate in an interactive process.” 

From the ruling: “From January 13, 2020 through January 15, 2021, plaintiff received multiple employee benefits from the County of Humboldt. Unbeknownst to the county, plaintiff started receiving Social Security benefits by the summer of 2020 for his ‘permanent disability.’” 

So what’s this all mean? Should the County care about Mr. Kalin’s past? At Tuesday’s Supervisors meeting, County Counsel Vallejo suggested no. “It’s not our responsibility to figure out the truth of that matter,” he said. 

As long as his law license is current and he hasn’t been censured by the State, Vallejo deems that good enough. 

Ibrahim noted in his comments that he’s been handling Inyo’s felony cases since December – which means juggling fifty cases at once. “This contract is a massive contract,” he said. 

Sounds anxiety-inducing. 

The Inyo Supervisors unanimously approved Mr. Kalin’s 39-month, $650,000 contract. The vote was 4-0. Supervisor Griffiths was absent.