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A little-known contractual agreement, coupled with statutory authority, allowed the District Attorney of Sierra Cofinty to temporarily “deputize” lawyers employed by the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) so they could prosecute the Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc. (the Mine), and Michael M. Miller, the Mine’s director, for alleged violations of worker safety laws that resulted in a workplace accident and death.

After the trial court dismissed the criminal charges for lack of proof that worker safety violations caused the fatality, Miller and the Mine sued CDAA and its employees for malicious prosecution and related causes of action. Defendants filed an anti-SLAPP motion, asserting that the lawsuit was a SLAPP—strategic lawsuit against public participation—with no probability of success because they were immune from liability for their actions as prosecutors. (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, subd. (b)(1) [a lawsuit arising from an act of the defendant in furtherance of his or her right of petition or free speech in connection with a public issue is subject to a motion to strike, unless the trial court determines that the plaintiff has established there is a…