Sacramento State Capitol building on Capitol Way. Credit: Jason Doiy/ Recorder

Steven Moawad, the California state bar's chief trial counsel, has withdrawn his nomination from the state Senate, effectively ending his tenure as the agency's top prosecutor.

The bar hired Moawad, a long time prosecutor in Contra Costa County, in April 2017 with hopes of bring stability to a job that in recent years has been plagued by legislative scrutiny, labor discord and turnover. But his appointment to lead the Office of Chief Trial Counsel, or OCTC, was never brought up for a required confirmation vote by the state Senate.

State bar president Michael Colantuono announced Moawad's withdrawal in a statement at the end of a trustees' meeting Friday.

“I'm grateful to Steve Moawad for his dedicated service to the state bar's office of chief trial counsel over the last year. Under Steve's leadership OCTC has accomplished important reforms and navigated significant transitions, while also improving employee morale and putting public protection at the center of our work,” Colantuono said.

Moawad was unavailable for an interview Friday, a bar spokeswoman said.

Moawad's nomination was torpedoed by lawmakers' concerns with two issues, according to two sources familiar with the confirmation process.

In March, a former forensic accountant in the Contra Costa County district attorney's office sued Moawad, former DA Mark Peterson, another DA employee and the county. The plaintiff, a Muslim, accused the defendants of religiously profiling him and subjecting him to extra security screenings when entering courtrooms. The defendants on Friday filed a motion to dismiss with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Neither Moawad nor bar leaders have addressed the lawsuit's specific allegations, although Colantuono issued a statement after the complaint was filed backing the chief trial counsel's Senate confirmation.

“Under his leadership, the Office of Chief Trial Counsel is fully engaged with the State Bar's public protection mission,” Colantuono said then. “I am especially pleased with his outreach to immigrant communities and Californians whose primary language is not English.”

Some lawmakers raised questions about how the bar's disciplinary office under Moawad handled complaints that a lawyer serving immigrant clients had alerted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to their undocumented status, the sources said. The bar does not acknowledge the existence of complaints against lawyers unless charges are filed, and a spokeswoman declined to comment on the specific allegations.

The chief trial counsel's office concluded that the lawyer's conduct did not run afoul of laws that were on the books at the time, sources said.

The job of the bar's chief disciplinarian has been a perilous one in recent years, as the agency struggled with a chronic backlog of attorney complaints and legislative criticism that it should be more aggressive in punishing bad lawyers and those practicing law without a license. James Towery resigned less than a year into the job amid talk of a power struggle with then-executive director Joe Dunn. Kim was hired as the bar's new “sheriff.” But she, too, left after employees gave her a vote of “no confidence” in October 2015.

The union representing state bar workers issued a public letter of support for Moawad in March.

“Under the leadership of Mr. Moawad, we are hopeful that politics and division will finally take a backseat to serving the people of California and preventing attorney misconduct,” wrote Kim Kasreliovich, the president of the union.

Colantuono's statement Friday said Moawad will continue serving as chief trial counsel until May 31 at which point he will assume a “senior role” with the bar, reporting to the executive director. Melanie Lawrence, an attorney with the office since 2005, will take on the role of interim chief trial counsel on June 1.