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Sandra Yi reportingSalt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller fired back against allegations of bad management and low morale in her office.
Eyewitness News received and investigated several complaints from past and present attorneys in Miller's office about lack of leadership, favoritism and incompetence.
Since Miller took office in January, 15 attorneys have left; that's 17 percent of the staff. Even Miller agrees it's an unusually high turnover.
The attorneys we talked to did not want to be identified. One attorney who quit said, "I would not have started looking for a new job if I would have been happy there."
He also said, "It was like working for someone who has never been in the business," referring to Miller's inexperience prosecuting felony cases.
Another person, who still works for the district attorney's office said, "The environment there is not a kind environment." He also said, "It's not an issue of caseloads. It's strictly an issue of a lack of leadership."
Miller says it's difficult to respond to anonymous complaints. She says no one has come to her about their problems.
Miller says she has made changes since coming into office, and not everyone is happy about them. She says, "Any time a newly elected person comes in and makes changes there's going to be people who disagree, and this office has remained static and been with the same person, and I think that creates a certain comfort level."
Several prosecutors showed up to the press conference to support Miller as she pushed for more funding to hire more prosecutors.
One attorney, who has worked at the district attorney's office for six years, says Miller has made positive changes, including part-time shifts for working moms and dads. She says there's a lot of political resentment.
Prosecutor Kara Tangaro says, "I think some of the quotes you are getting are from people who have never supported Lohra, who would not have supported Lohra no matter what she has done in our office."
Miller says she has replaced the 15 vacancies in her office with experienced attorneys.
