The union, which represents prosecutors in Los Angeles County, has sued its boss, newly elected district attorney George Gascón, over its attempt to institute legal reforms.
The lawsuit filed in LA Supreme Court on Wednesday is aimed at undermining Gascón’s platform by proposing ending its mandate to stop improving convictions on previous offenses, including possession of weapons, gang membership and violating the ‘three strikes’ law, which extends sentences when suspects are convicted.
The Los Angeles County Bar Association argues in the lawsuit that deputy attorneys cannot follow the prescriptions without violating state criminal law.
“The provisions violate California law, which imposes a mandatory duty on prosecutors to plead and prove strike priorities,” the union said in a statement. “Dismissal of the priors can only be based on individual circumstances, not on a general policy.”
Gascón said Los Angeles County voters “adopted” the election when they elected him.
“This new approach will require some adaptation and a tolerance for change,” he said in a statement. “I invite an open and respectful debate based on the facts … However, the people have spoken, the direction is clear and in the end we all want the same things – security and equal justice under the law.”
Gascón, a former assistant chief of the Los Angeles police station and district attorney in San Francisco, was elected in November after acting as a reformer and police critic, declaring the current Jackie Lacey’s practical record of prosecutors killing suspects.
In the wake of the national George Floyd protests, his victory was celebrated by activists who supported his friendly approach to law enforcement.
But the union, which endorsed the seasoned Lacey, immediately clashed with Gascón, arguing that its softer prosecution policy would lead to an increase in crime.
“Respondent George Gascón issued special guidelines within weeks of his investment as a Los Angeles County District Attorney that are not merely radical, but clearly illegal,” the union said in the case.
According to the lawsuit, the law is ‘obligatory’ to use appropriate improvements, and prosecutors cannot be ‘ordered’ to contravene them. The union claims in the lawsuit that Gascón “sent agents to monitor prosecutors during their hearings to ensure they comply” with his order.
The submission seeks to force Gascón to revoke its mandate.
He responded to the union’s initial criticism by pushing back parts of his mandate: improvements can be sought for hate crimes, crimes against children and the elderly and other allegations that meet his criteria, he said in mid-December.
But Gascón stood at the heart of its reform policy, saying that improving gangs and other additions does not reduce recurrence or crime. He said there are more than a hundred improvement options available to prosecutors under California law.
“Over-confinement – the practice of sending people to jails and prisons for too long – does not increase security,” he said in a statement.