LA’s new DA meets stiff resistance from deputy district attorneys
Ninety-two days into George Gascón’s first term as Los Angeles County district attorney, he’s making good on his campaign promises by redressing the harm that longtime systems of law enforcement and incarceration have done to certain communities. The former Harbor Division commander of the Los Angeles Police Department also inspired a rebellion among his deputy prosecutors and a lawsuit against him by their union, Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County. The union alleged that the dramatic changes Gascón brought to the nation’s largest prosecutorial office have defied state law and forced rank-and-file prosecutors to violate their oaths of office.
Gascón made his most controversial policy change — halting prosecutors’ practice of filing gang enhancements, 5-year and 3-year prior enhancements and three strikes enhancements — during his first day on the job.
Other policy changes include:
• End the charging of minors as adults
• End cooperation requirements for survivors
• Extend victim (survivor) services to families of those killed by law enforcement
• Review officer-involved use of force and officer- involved shootings, and re-open cases dating back to 2012
• End the practice of deputy district attorneys requesting cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felony offenses by Jan. 1, 2021
• Re-evaluate and re-sentence thousands of cases including all those who have served more than 20 years in prison, those with sentence enhancements, those who are at high risk of COVID-19 and those tried as adults when charged during childhood
• End the pursuit of the death penalty
Random Lengths News solicited the perspective of Long Beach Superior Court judges and an active deputy district attorney, who we dubbed John Q. The sources cited ethical concerns about speaking on the record. They requested that their identities be withheld due to the sensitivity of the subject matter.
One judge expressed concern about a memo from Gascón’s office requiring deputy district attorneys to report on judges refusing to strike priors of dismissed cases that have already been filed upon his simple oral motion, with mention of “flipping them” (the judges) in the next election.
“Once a case is filed, a judge has a duty to see that the law is followed,” the judge said. “The judges who I know well are expressing concern over this tactic.”
John Q acknowledged the existence of this memo, but noted that the memo didn’t mention anything about flipping judges and attributed the assertion to social media chatter from Gascón’s supporters.
There are a number of legal professionals who believe Gascón’s concerns have merit, that there is a draconian aspect to the three strikes law. Some of those (deputy prosecutors) agree with Gascón and are opposed to capital punishment and that bail is unconstitutional. But the way Gascon has gone about changing the system, they argue is counterproductive.
“Gascón, as an executive branch official, may or may not have the ability to choose not to implement a law that he doesn’t like,” one judge said. “Ultimately, that issue may have to be resolved at the appellate court level.
“Trump, as an executive branch official, may have the ability to pardon whomever he wants. Some, however, dispute the appropriateness of certain executive branch actions, believing that these issues are more appropriately addressed by the legislative branches of our state and federal governments.”
John Q noted that the District Attorney’s Office already had a prohibition against seeking three strikes and 25-year-to-life sentences. John Q further explained that prosecutors found the prohibition on filing enhancements, which at one time included hate crimes and child and sex crimes enhancements as well as the strike priors, to be the most problematic.
He argued that this was one of the significant reasons why the District Attorney’s Union filed suit. It was to fight the prohibition against strike priors.
John Q believed District Attorney Jackie Lacey was unfairly attacked, opining that she was not pro cop versus the Black community and that she personally wanted to prosecute officers who unlawfully shot someone. He said she made a fatal miscalculation about meeting with Black Lives Matter and discussing individual police shootings.
“There were folks in her administration who felt differently,” John Q said. “She felt personally attacked by BLM and hurt that it was Black women taking the lead against her.”
John Q noted that most of Gascón’s Day One initiatives were already policy under Jackie in some form or another.
John Q cited Gascón’s ending cooperation requirements for survivors’ benefits as an example.
“The LADA [Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office] never required survivor cooperation to access assistance funds,” John Q said. “That’s a state rule since the bulk of that money comes from the state. Gascón wants to get money from the county to do that but that’s just a proposal at this point.”
Gascón has issued about nine directives, one of which applied to misdemeanors. There are many who believe that the directive will result in many of these cases not being filed and the probationary period being limited to one year.
One Superior Court judge outlined the issues that could arise from a judge not considering prior misdemeanors.
“By and large the misdemeanors that arise include drunk in public, disturbing the peace, interfering with a peace officer, firefighter or lifeguard in the performance of his or her duties, being under the influence of cocaine, meth, etc., bar room brawls, petty thefts, vandalism (graffiti), joyriding golf carts and vessels, and driving without a driver’s license or driving on a suspended driver’s license,” he said. “To simply do nothing about these cases means that accountability for one’s actions is ignored.
“What about the victims in these cases? What about the court’s function in assuring restitution to victims of these crimes? One year often is not a long enough period to assure that a victim has received restitution.”
“Judges often attempt to focus on rehabilitation, hoping that the court’s intervention will have a real positive impact, not only for the defendant, but for society as a whole,” said one jurist who asked to remain anonymous. “Without court intervention in the ‘drug addict’ type cases, are we throwing in the towel on trying to do something that may end up providing fellow human beings and the least of our brethren a better life?”
John Q broadly agreed noting that lessening enhancements will mostly affect Black and brown victims of crime.
“The policy of not charging 17-year-olds as adults will result in gangs using juveniles as shooters again and that was the reason why the law was enacted in the first place,” John Q explained.
The long time deputy district attorney noted that the vast majority of Gascón’s enhancement policy will result in less time for individuals who have committed crimes against people of color.
“These are all very serious offenses, like the man who decapitated his children in Lancaster,” John Q said. “San Fernando is very different from Los Angeles. It’s smaller and has no gang violence.”
Referencing the rise in Los Angeles’ homicide rate, John Q believes prosecutors need every tool in their toolbox to address the problem.
“You know that there are gang wars raging in the south of the county, in particular South LA and the Harbor Area,” John Q said. “We need every tool we have to combat gang violence.
“Nobody is opposed to shifting more resources to both rehabilitation and community development, but we also have to protect the community now. We can do both and still offer the proper amount of justice for people who kill Black and brown victims as we do White victims.”
John Q said he knew Gascón was bound to meet resistance as he rolled out his policy initiatives, but noted that the way Gascón did it made bitter enemies against him within the office before he was even there a month.
“You just can’t have a defense attorney threatening to tell your boss on you to get you fired,” he said referencing a policy that request public defenders to turn in a form when a deputy district attorney does not follow Gascon’s policy changes. “It’s not good leadership and it’s undermining his policy changes.”
