Los Angeles County Prosecutors File Lawsuit Against New District Attorney Over Justice Reform Efforts

The union representing Los Angeles County prosecutors has sued their boss, new prosecutor George Gascón, for his attempt to push through justice reforms.

The lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday aims to clear Gascón’s platform by proposing to end his tenure to stop seeking improvements to previous felony convictions, including possession of firearms. fire, gang membership and violation of the “three strikes” law, which lengthens the sentences if suspects are convicted.

The Los Angeles County Association of Assistant District Attorneys argues in the lawsuit that assistant district attorneys cannot follow guidelines without violating the state’s criminal code.

“The guidelines violate California law, which requires prosecutors to plead and prove strike priors,” the union said in a statement. “The dismissals of these priors can only be based on individual circumstances and not on general policy.”

Gascón said Los Angeles County voters “embraced” the effort when they elected him.

“This new approach will require some adjustments and a tolerance for change,” he said in a statement. “I invite an open and respectful debate based on the facts … However, people have spoken, the direction is clear and, at the end of the day, we all want the same things – security and equality of justice. under the law.”

Gascón, former deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department and San Francisco District Attorney, was elected in November after running as a reformer and police critic who spoke out against Jackie Lacey’s record on crime. lawsuits that kill suspects.

Following George Floyd’s nationwide protests, his victory was celebrated by activists who supported his gentler approach to law enforcement.

But the union, which endorsed Lacey, immediately clashed with Gascón, arguing that his looser prosecution policy would lead to increased crime.

“Respondent George Gascón, weeks after his inauguration as Los Angeles County District Attorney, issued special directives that are not just radical, but plainly illegal,” the union said in the lawsuit.

State law “mandates” the use of appropriate enhancements, according to the lawsuit, and prosecutors cannot be “ordered” to violate it. The union claims in this lawsuit that Gascón dispatched “agents to monitor prosecutors during their hearings to ensure they comply” with his directive.

The filing aims to force Gascón to rescind his directive.

He responded to the union’s initial criticism by revisiting parts of its mandate: improvements can be requested for hate crimes, crimes against children and the elderly and other allegations that meet its criteria, a- he declared in mid-December.

But Gascón maintained his stance on the core of his reform policy, saying that gang improvements and other additions did not reduce recidivism or crime. He said there were over 100 improvement opportunities available to prosecutors under California law.

“Over-incarceration – the practice of sending people to jails and jails for too long – does not improve security,” he said in a statement.