Conroy Treated Woman Like ‘Object,’ Lawyer Says

SACRAMENTO — Saying the state Legislature needed to be sent “a message,” the attorney for a woman suing former Orange County Assemblyman Mickey Conroy on allegations of sexual harassment said in closing arguments Tuesday that her client was treated like “an object,” then fired after complaining.

But a lawyer for the three-term assemblyman countered that many of the accusations of overt harassment leveled by Robyn Boyd had been blown out of proportion. Boyd was dismissed because of poor performance and budget problems, he said.

Boyd, 38, is suing Conroy, his chief of staff, Pete Conaty, and the Assembly, charging that she was fired for complaining about an office environment that included profanity, sexual innuendo and unwanted physical advances by her bosses. Conaty and Conroy have denied the allegations.

Carolee Kilduff, Boyd’s lawyer, said that during a yearlong stint in 1993 as a $6-an-hour office assistant to Conroy, her client was repeatedly subjected to harassment, then ostracized and finally fired after she complained.

“Think about whether this is the way you want your government to run,” Kilduff told the jury. “If you don’t find for Robyn Boyd, you’re sending a message to Pete Conaty, Mickey Conroy and the Assembly that they can engage in this kind of conduct and get away with it.”

Boyd testified during the five-week trial that Conroy on occasion put his arm around her and allowed a hand to creep to the side of her breast. She also charged that Conroy demanded frequent kisses during greetings and on one occasion boasted to a bystander at a political party that a smooch from Boyd was “a perk of the office.”

Kilduff called on the jury to award Boyd more than $200,000 in damages for her lost wages and therapy needed because of the alleged harassment.

Dennis Murphy, Conroy’s defense attorney, countered that Boyd’s complaint led to corrections at the office to assuage her concerns and that the former staffer’s biggest problems were at home.

Murphy also said there were no witnesses brought forward by Boyd’s attorneys who saw Conroy or Conaty kiss her or make other unwanted physical gestures.