THE JUDGE SHOULD HAVE THROWN THIS CRAP OUT AS SOON AS IT CAME BEFORE HIM

The Californian authorities were sued because they refused to promote a guy to a job he could not do!

A Sonoma County health care case worker who claimed he was denied a promotion because a panic disorder prevented him from meeting clients won $6.5 million in an employment discrimination lawsuit. A Sonoma County Superior Court jury awarded George Alberigi, 52, of Forestville $1.5 million in lost wages and $5 million for pain and suffering and other damages.

Alberigi was diagnosed in 1986 with panic disorder and agoraphobia, a fear of public places. He accused the county of bias in failing to accommodate his disability. For most of 14 years with the county's Human Services Department, Alberigi was allowed to interview Medi-Cal clients by phone, but a promotion he applied for in 2001 required meeting clients in person. He was denied the promotion and eventually went on permanent medical disability. He sued the county in 2003.

The county will likely seek a new trial, County Counsel Steven Woodside said Wednesday. "Everyone around here was stunned by the verdict, particularly the amount of the verdict, which we think is excessive," he said. Alberigi also won attorney fees, which could add another six figures to the county's cost, said his lawyer, Steve Murphy of San Francisco.

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CALIFORNIA'S FINEST

Investigating the rape of little girls has no priority???

Police investigating a sexual assault on a 10-year-old girl didn't follow up on a convicted rapist whose DNA was linked to the case, until he allegedly raped another girl months later, according to a newspaper.

The case of Kalonji Lavaro Lee, 30, a convicted sex offender, shows the shortcomings of the use of DNA science in solving crimes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday. Police were investigating the molestation and attempted rape of a 10-year-old girl attacked in her home in January 2004 and turned to DNA to help solve the crime. The state crime lab's computer gave investigators a DNA "cold hit" that linked the crime to Lee, who lived nearby.

Alameda County court records show that Oakland police investigators didn't contact the suspect until after he allegedly attacked another 10-year-old girl six months later, according to the Chronicle. Lee's photo appears on the state's "Megan's Law" Web site of sex offenders. Oakland police said Friday that they wouldn't comment on the case.

Experts say that breakdowns in DNA testing can occur because modern DNA science is unearthing "cold hits" faster than police can investigate them. California's criminal DNA database has already produced 1,800 cold hits, said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

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(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)