A lawyer for Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against her that alleges a prosecutor's firing was politically motivated. The dismissal request argues that prosecutors can be fired for political reasons.

Keri Borzilleri, a city prosecutor for 10 years who said she had an "exemplary record," filed suit in December in U.S. District Court, saying she was fired for openly supporting Mosby's predecessor, Gregg L. Bernstein.

Mosby's response, filed this week by an assistant attorney general, says that prosecutors are "policymakers" and "alter egos" of Mosby and that case law supports an elected official's right to fire such employees who have a different viewpoint.

"Ms. Mosby had every right to expect that a person in Ms. Borzilleri's position would be loyal without qualification and would publicly support her in full," Assistant Attorney General Bradley J. Neitzel wrote in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

"Based on Ms. Borzilleri's public message to the people of Baltimore, whom Ms. Mosby serves, that Mr. Bernstein was a better person for the job, Ms. Mosby had more than adequate justification for discharging Ms. Borzilleri for this public message."

Prosecutors are "at-will" employees, but Borzilleri's attorney, Stacey Grigsby, has said it is nonetheless illegal to fire people for reasons such as race and gender — or for supporting a political rival.

"Our client had an exemplary work record and was wrongfully dismissed because of her political beliefs, and this motion does not dispute these facts, even though it is unlawful under our Constitution," Grigsby, who is handling the case pro bono, said Thursday.

Six attorneys were fired soon after Mosby took over, Borzilleri says in the lawsuit, and 30 more have left since then. Those numbers do not include top Bernstein officials who left on their own. There are 127 positions for assistant state's attorneys in the office's most recent budget.

Other Bernstein supporters continue to work in the office. Mosby's top hire, Chief Deputy Michael Schatzow, contributed nearly $4,000 to Bernstein's campaign. The state's attorney's office previously called the lawsuit "frivolous."

Borzilleri said in her complaint that she supported Bernstein but had no formal involvement in his campaign. In June, she hosted a meet-and-greet event with Bernstein at her home that was attended by 20 people. Bernstein's campaign posted pictures of the event on its Facebook page.

At a community event in Upton that she attended in her role as a prosecutor, she said in the complaint, "Mosby did not formally greet Ms. Borzilleri but glared directly at Ms. Borzilleri during Mr. Bernstein's presentation."

After Mosby was sworn in and had hired a new front office, Borzilleri said, she met with one of the new officials about becoming a part of a new unit. She said she was pulled aside by the official, who said they needed to talk and asked her to describe any connection to the Bernstein campaign "before it became an issue."

The next day, she said, she was pulled into a conference room by Steward Beckham, Mosby's chief of administration, and informed that she had been terminated, effective immediately. She was led out of the office by an armed officer.

At least two other employees have spoken out about being fired. Cristie Cole, a research analyst, said she also was fired for supporting Bernstein. Another terminated employee was Bernstein's ex-wife, Terry Schafer.

A new policy manual for the office, distributed in March and which employees were required to sign, states that employees "may be terminated 'at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all.'"

Neitzel's motion to dismiss the lawsuit cites a North Carolina case in which the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the firing of sheriff's deputies for supporting a rival candidate of the sheriff and for "failing to associate themselves politically with [the sheriff's] campaign."

"Numerous federal courts have reached the same conclusion: prosecutors are policymakers and therefore may be fired for their political activities," he wrote.

Borzilleri served as a liaison between the state's attorney's office, the community and the police, and therefore was a "policymaker" who could be fired for not supporting her boss, he said.

Neitzel also said that there was no evidence that Mosby acted with malice or gross negligence, and said she is immune from lawsuits in federal court when acting in her official capacity.

jfenton@baltsun.com