The former head of Amador Superior Court has filed a civil lawsuit against judges David Richmond and Susan Harlan, claiming she was discriminated against because of her gender for more than four years, among other charges.

Rachelle Agatha, who resigned her post as court executive officer in July 2004, filed the civil suit in early September. Listed as defendants in the case are Amador Superior Court, Richmond, Harlan, current CEO Hugh Swift, the Judicial Council of the State of California, the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Office of the General Counsel, the Commission of Judicial Performance and the administrative director of the courts and secretary of the judicial council William Vickrey.

All told, Agatha is seeking damages from the defendants for failure to discharge mandatory duty, gender discrimination, retaliation, constructive discharge resulting from discrimination, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Specific damage amounts are not included in the complaint.

According to Agatha's complaint, Richmond singled her out and treated her differently because of her gender from the time she was hired in 2000. The complaint further alleges Agatha complained to Harlan about Richmond's conduct on a "weekly and monthly basis," but Harlan did nothing to resolve the issues.

The complaint cites several examples of how Richmond allegedly singled Agatha out, such as holding administrative-level meetings with only men and intentionally leaving her out; dismissing her complaints about the way he allegedly treated her and verbally attacking her or mocking her to the point that she would leave his office visibly distressed and crying; and continually circumventing her authority as CEO by seeking the advice of Swift, although Swift was a subordinate employee of Agatha's.

Because of the treatment Agatha allegedly suffered from Richmond, staff from Amador Superior Court filed an anonymous complaint with the state commission on judicial performance against Richmond on April 30, 2002, charging him with "blatantly" violating judicial conduct rules. The anonymous complaint further alleges that Richmond, among several other charges:

- Created a hostile work environment due to his inappropriate behavior

- Placed the court at risk for sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuits

- Does not have the proper temperament to serve as a judge

- Only cares about his criminal court calendar, which has affected the entire Amador Superior Court system by placing a burden on court resources

- Has formed biases against the public defender's office that have affected court resources

- Is an ineffective judge who "is not fit to be a judicial officer at all"

The anonymous complaint further alleged that Agatha's predecessor, Mary Beth Todd, resigned her position at the court due to similar issues with Judge Richmond.

"Judge Richmond's violent temper, erratic behavior, demeaning treatment and inappropriate behavior caused Ms. Todd to leave the court," the complaint states. "She too tried to seek help, but found that writing to the commission would possibly end her career in the courts. She also felt fighting Judge Richmond was a no-win situation. Our current CEO, Rachelle Agatha, is currently experiencing the same issues Mary Beth Todd faced and we fear we will also lose her."

Contacted at her new position in Calaveras County's Superior Court, Todd would not comment on either the lawsuit or the allegations made in the anonymous complaint.

The Commission of Judicial Performance did not act on the anonymous complaint, so another formal complaint was filed on June 26, 2002, with the same charges. This complaint, however, was signed by Agatha as well as Assistant CEO Evalyn Ghormley and six other female court staffers.

A memorandum from Agatha to Harlan on July 5, 2004, detailed more of the alleged discrimination that Agatha was enduring from Richmond.

"As you and I have discussed on several occasions, Judge Richmond is subjecting me to discrimination and a hostile work environment because I am a woman," Agatha wrote to Harlan. "I am not alone. You have confirmed that he had similar issues with the previous Court Executive Officer, who was a woman . . . Judge Richmond has personal issues with any woman in a position of responsibility and authority. You have told me that you have suffered similar treatment from him - to the point where his behavior toward you has, on occasion, affected your personal health."

A letter from Harlan to Agatha dated July 22, 2004, detailed an alleged proposal for settlement from Agatha.

"As I understand your offer, the settlement proposal is in part conditioned upon your remaining on the court's payroll at full salary and benefits for approximately one year after your separation from employment," the letter said. "... the court is not in a position to act upon a proposal that includes this condition. Until a thorough investigation is complete, the court cannot properly evaluate whether this quite significant amount of funds should be allocated to settle your claims."

The letter also states that the court is treating Agatha's allegations very seriously and had forwarded her complaint to the state Administrative Office of the Courts for "assistance and further investigation."

Alison Sandman, the state-appointed attorney representing all defendants with the exception of the judicial council, said that her firm has reviewed the complaint and has looked into the allegations made by Agatha.

"Each and every allegation is denied," she said Wednesday afternoon. "We have determined that the defendants acted appropriately."

Harlan and Swift would not comment on the lawsuit. Richmond said that he was holding a conference call today with his personal attorney and the state-appointed law firm to discuss what he could and could not say regarding the suit. Sandman said that her firm "may provide further comment at a later date."

Agatha's attorney, Susan J. Sheridan, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Agatha said Monday that she could not comment on the suit. "I had a great job but things were not handled properly," she said.