The union representing Los Angeles County prosecutors filed a lawsuit against District Attorney George Gascón on Wednesday, Dec. 30, asking the courts to stop some of the directives he has asked prosecutors to follow.
Since taking office earlier this month, Gascón has announced several policies that have been met with disdain by many prosecutors and police unions, including eliminating cash bail and sentencing enhancements. The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, which represents around 800 prosecutors, in the lawsuit said that Gascón’s policies were unlawful and unfair to ask prosecutors to follow.
Michele Hanisee, president of the ADDA, said the overall goal of the lawsuit is for the courts to intervene and tell prosecutors how to proceed.
“(Prosecutors) really feel torn about wanting to keep their jobs,” Hanisee said. “But not wanting to violate their ethical principles they are required to abide by in the state of California.”
The lawsuit asked the courts to cease, and a temporary restraining order for, the enforcement of the special directives. Gascón said Wednesday in a statement that the court declined to file the restraining order, but an ADDA statement said they withdrew the request so it could be heard at a later date next month.
“(Prosecutors) are public servants who have earned our utmost respect and gratitude,” Gascón said. “They certainly have mine – and a sincere invitation to join me in making these much-needed changes. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, this new approach will take some fine-tuning and a tolerance for change.”
A joint statement by three law professors – Dean of UC Berkeley Law School Erwin Chemerinsky, David Mills, professor of practice of law and senior lecturer at Stanford Law School, and Michael Romano, director of Stanford Law School’s Three Strikes Project – argued that the district attorney has “complete authority” to enact the law as they see fit in their county. Chemerinsky and Romano are on Gascón’s transition team, according to his campaign website.
“That the association now claims the practice to be unlawful is more reflective of their longstanding opposition to reform and the will of millions of Angelenos than it is the legality of D.A. Gascón’s directives,” the Tuesday statement said. “Gascón’s policies will enhance health and safety in Los Angeles and begin a much needed process to reduce epidemic levels of mass incarceration.”
The lawsuit focuses on the elimination of some sentencing enhancements, which add time to a defendant’s sentence for certain allegations involved. Gascón earlier directed prosecutors to not seek any sentencing enhancements, but later announced that some – such as for hate crimes and cases involving children – could remain, amid the backlash.
Among the enhancements mentioned in the lawsuit is the Three Strikes Law – enacted by voters in 1994, adding prison time to previously convicted felons – which the ADDA argues should be left on the table for prosecutors to use in court, as a state law. And by that law, according to the lawsuit, prosecutors are required to address those prior convictions.
“The elected D.A. has said he believes some of these laws are bad policy or unconstitutional, such as the Three Strikes Law,” Hanisee said. “But it is not on the authority for an elected official to decide what the law is and what is constitutional.”
The special directives apply to both future and pending cases, which already have brought issues in courtrooms. One judge earlier this month denied a prosecutor’s request to withdraw sentencing enhancements in a pending case, saying that she disagreed with Gascón’s policies.
The lawsuit names a few other judges who disagreed with the directives also.
“I understand it came from the top. I understand why you’re making the motion, but the court will deny the motion as to each and every one of the other allegations,” Judge Laura F. Priver told a prosecutor who moved to withdraw prior conviction allegations in a case, according to the lawsuit.
“You have an ethical duty to do your job and proceed with prosecution,” Priver said. “You should not be allowed to abandon the prosecution at this juncture.”
In Gascón’s statement, he said sentencing enhancements have shown excessive sentences exacerbate recidivism and create more victims in the future.
“They are outdated, incoherent and applied unfairly,” Gascón said in an earlier statement “Plus, no compelling evidence exists that they improve public safety.”
The filing of the lawsuit comes one day before a scheduled “Candlelight Vigils for Victims of Violent Crime,” on Thursday night outside of the Hall of Justice, organized by a Facebook group seeking to recall Gascón. The group, which had around 35,000 members as of Wednesday, said the district attorney’s special directives put “criminals first, victim’s last.”
Brian Claypool, an attorney who handles child abuse cases, is among the organizers in the recall effort. In addition to public safety concerns over eliminating cash bail and some sentencing enhancements, Claypool said he agrees with the ADDA with their concerns.
“In terms of the lawsuit, it’s necessary and viable,” Claypool said. “Gascón is not a legislator, he’s defying the voters. He wasn’t elected to legislate and create his own laws.”
