By Frank Stoltze/LAist
Originally published Aug. 30, 2024
What’s at stake?
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is the largest local prosecutorial office in the U.S., and its influence is felt far beyond L.A. County borders. The district attorney’s decisions about which cases to pursue — or not pursue — are hotly debated as a reflection of what we as a society believe justice should look like.
Incumbent D.A. George Gascón has rolled back many of the policies of previous district attorneys in what he says is an effort to reduce mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system. He no longer prosecutes many misdemeanors, which are less serious crimes, such as trespassing and driving without a valid license. He also rarely seeks to prosecute juveniles as adults and often declines to file so-called “sentencing enhancements,” which can add hefty prison time to a person’s sentence. Because of these and other policies, people who support a tough-on-crime approach want Gascón out of office.
LAist asked the two candidates for Los Angeles County district attorney about changes needed in the D.A.’s office, justice system reforms, and their approach to prosecuting misdemeanors.
But first, a little background on the office:
What does the L.A. County district attorney do?
The district attorney is the county’s top prosecutor, determining when to file criminal charges for felony crimes committed throughout the county, as well as misdemeanor crimes committed in the county’s unincorporated areas and all but 10 of its 88 cities. Those 10 cities in which the county district attorney does not prosecute misdemeanors — that task is handled by city prosecutors — include Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Monica and Pasadena.
By law, prosecutors are required to file criminal charges in a case only when they believe the charges can be proven in court beyond a reasonable doubt.
The operation is a vast one: The L.A. County District Attorney’s office employs more than 800 lawyers, 300 investigators and more than 800 clerical and support staff members.
You might recognize the D.A.’s work from …
High-profile prosecutions: The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes nearly 180,000 cases a year from murders to burglaries to car thefts. This includes high-profile cases like the prosecutions of socialite Rebecca Grossman, the killer of hip hop artist and activist Nipsey Hussle, and local police officers involved in shootings. In perhaps its most famous case, the office prosecuted O.J. Simpson.
What should I consider in a candidate?
How would a candidate fight crime? Look for specifics beyond platitudes like: “I’ll prosecute people to the fullest extent of the law.” Consider how candidates would approach misdemeanors, for example.
Gascón says many people accused of low-level misdemeanors like trespassing are experiencing homelessness, substance use disorder and/or mental illness, and that prosecuting them has minimal effect on public safety. Critics say prosecuting minor violations of the law helps ensure public safety and minimizes damage to property and people.
Keep in mind that a district attorney’s policies are only one of many factors that can contribute to crime trends. In the city of L.A., violent crime is down over the past two years while property crime is up. This generally mirrors trends in cities across the country with both conservative and liberal district attorneys.
Stance on Proposition 47 and mass incarceration: Listen to how candidates talk about this measure, which passed in 2014 and reduced six crimes from felony status to misdemeanor status, lessening the punishment associated with each. The crimes include simple drug possession, petty theft under $950, writing or forging a bad check under $950, receipt of stolen property and shoplifting under $950. Gascón co-authored the proposition, which was approved by 60% of voters.
Supporters of Prop. 47 say that the previous penalties for these crimes were too harsh and contributed to mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system. Critics argue the measure has contributed to an increase in crime, particularly retail theft, and have placed a measure on the November ballot to roll it back.
A candidate’s stand on police accountability: One of the key roles of a district attorney is to determine whether a law enforcement officer’s use of force is legal.
Gascón has charged 15 on-duty officers with crimes in connection with shootings or in-custody deaths — far more than his predecessors. (Over the previous two decades or so, prior to Gascón’s election, only two officers were charged.) Critics of Gascón say he’s been too quick to charge officers.
Meet the candidates
George Gascón
Incumbent Los Angeles District Attorney
Gascón was elected as the L.A. County District Attorney in 2020. Previously, he served as district attorney in San Francisco, police chief in San Francisco and police chief in Mesa, Ariz. He was a Los Angeles police officer for 22 years, rising to the rank of deputy chief. Gascón enacted a sweeping set of reforms when he took office as district attorney. They resulted in a dramatic reduction in the filing of misdemeanors and certain gang and other sentencing enhancements. He has said that his policy of reducing criminal penalties is aimed at reducing mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. It’s a message that helped him win the office in 2020, ousting incumbent Jackie Lacey.
Some platform highlights:
- Continuing his commitment to what he calls common-sense justice system reforms by targeting “the major drivers of mass incarceration while at the same time increasing victims services.”
- Reforming the “prison pipeline”: “Because we need a system that is about more than punishment, we need a system that holistically addresses root causes of crime and aims to make our county both fair and safe.”
- Righting wrongs caused by sentencing enhancements: Black, Latino and Indigenous people have been unfairly targeted by excessively harsh sentencing enhancements “that disproportionately harm people in low-income communities of color, keeping people in prison long after they pose any safety risk to their community and contributing to our massive and aging prison population,” Gascón says.
- He is a co-author of Prop. 47. “Reclassifying certain crimes as misdemeanors rather than felonies [as Prop. 47 did] does not mean those crimes are not prosecuted. They are and they should be…” but, Gascón says, they should be prosecuted in a way that doesn’t add to mass incarceration concerns.
Go deeper: Jump to Gascón’s answers to the LAist candidate survey and more and listen to his interview on LAist’s Airtalk ahead of the primary in March.
More voter resources:
- Website: GeorgeGascon.org
- Endorsements: See full list here
Nathan Hochman
ochman is a criminal defense attorney who previously served as U.S. assistant attorney general for the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. He is also a former federal prosecutor in L.A. and former president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. In 2022, he was the Republican nominee for California attorney general.
Some platform highlights:
- Vows to “restore the law enforcement partnership that Gascón has decimated.”
- Promises to tackle the scourge of fentanyl: “As District Attorney, I will fully prosecute as murderers those who knowingly sell fentanyl or fentanyl-laced drugs that result in deaths, lead a local-state-federal task force to target the fentanyl chain of sellers and suppliers, and work with local agencies to launch a massive education effort in schools warning students and parents of the dangers of fentanyl.”
- Will prosecute all misdemeanors: “My central philosophy is that those who commit crimes will be held accountable. There will be no blanket policy stating that anyone gets a free pass no matter what misdemeanor or the number of misdemeanors they commit.”
- Supports modifying or repealing Prop. 47: “This proposition swept too broadly and has created many unintended consequences. For instance, possession of highly addictive, dangerous narcotics like fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine are now treated as misdemeanors as if they were marijuana… Without reform, deaths from drug overdoses will continue to set new records, thefts will continue to be a fixture on social media, and Los Angeles County will keep losing tax-paying residents to other states.”
Go deeper: Jump to Hochman’s answers to the LAist candidate survey and more and listen to his interview on LAist’s Airtalk ahead of the primary in March.
More voter resources:
- Website: NathanHochman.com
- Endorsements: See full list here
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This report is reprinted with permission from Southern California Public Radio. © 2024 Southern California Public Radio. All rights reserved.