New LA County DA sworn in, vows to restore safety

Nathan Hochman was sworn in as the 44th district attorney of Los Angeles County on Tuesday, pledging to restore public safety amid widespread concerns from voters about rising homelessness and increasing crime rates.

"A DA must have as its North Stars only two things: the facts and the law, and not a personal political agenda," Hochman said in his inauguration speech in front of hundreds of Angelenos outside the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles.

He said he rejects extreme policies on both sides of the pendulum, such as "decarceration" policies "that predetermine that certain crimes and certain criminals would not be prosecuted without a regard to the facts of the law."

The other end of the pendulum is mass incarceration policies, he indicated.

"Where I come down is an approach that I've described as the hard work middle or the hard middle," he explained. "And what that means is that you have to do the work. Blanket policies are inherently lazy. You have to look at each case individually, the individual defendant and their background, the crime committed and the impact on the victim to determine who the true threats are to our public safety. And those are often repeat offenders and need to be behind bars."

He added that those who are first-time nonviolent offenders still must pay a debt back to society through diversion programs. "You can go to prison, or you can do an 18-month rigorous one day at a time rehab program that if you succeed, we'll give you a certificate and wipe that crime off your record," he said.

Expanding on his vision for his new job, Hochman said his prosecutors are going to do their jobs representing more than 10 million "clients" across the county.

"They are going to zealously represent the clients as well they should," Hochman told the Daily Journal minutes after the ceremony. "So, you are not going to have a DA's office that is acting more like defense counsel. It's going to be acting as a prosecutor. I think that is the way the system works best. The DA does its job, defense lawyers do their jobs, and judge and juries are ultimately the fact finders."

As to whether more criminal cases are going to go to trial under his leadership, Hochman said, "It depends on the quality of the case. Very often a defense attorney is going to move, following the evidence that is being brought by law enforcement and built up in the case, to determine whether or not their client can have that case proven beyond reasonable doubt."

In those situations, he remarked, plea agreements result when the defense understands the prosecutors are going to win at trial, so they are going to get the best deal for their client.

"If they want to go to trial it is their constitutional right," he added. "I've spent 34 years in the criminal justice system. I've been on both sides of the aisle going to trial, often. As we, as prosecutors, I've experienced the law coming to life is inside a courtroom, so we don't fear anyone going to trial. In fact, if they want to go to trial, we'll certainly encourage that to exercise their constitutional rights."

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger administered the oath of office to Hochman.

"The city of Los Angeles is going to be back," he said to the crowd to cheering applause, then turning to Hochman. "I am so happy that you were elected. I am so happy that you are our next district attorney."

Schwarzenegger was very critical of crime waves throughout the county in recent years and mentioned the frustration of many police officers he encountered daily regarding the release of repeat offenders.

Under Hochman, he asserted, there is now hope.

"Of course, hope is not a strategy, but I know this man has a strategy," he said. "I know we can trust him, and I am delighted to now swear you in to this office."

Hochman's election marks a dramatic shift in Los Angeles County's criminal justice system. Just four years ago, in the wake of Proposition 47 and a summer of nationwide protests against policing practices, voters chose George Gascón, who promised a more lenient and reform-focused approach to prosecutions.

But the results of those policies clearly weren't to the voters' liking. They elected Hochman by a margin of nearly 60%.

Hochman's first official act was to announce the appointment of Deputy District Attorney Steven I. Katz as his chief deputy, signaling a sharp pivot from his predecessor's administration. Katz is a veteran prosecutor with decades of courtroom experience.

He also issued a new policy manual, which the head of the prosecutor's union said is a return to the manual of Jacquelyne P. Lacey, the district attorney defeated by Gascón four years ago.

Last month's election was nothing short of a landslide. Hochman garnered more than 1.9 million votes while Gascón trailed with 1.3 million. Gascón, once a progressive darling swept into office on promises of transformative justice, conceded defeat on Nov. 6, barely 24 hours after Election Day.

But Hochman's victory wasn't just about numbers; it was about momentum. His campaign rode a wave of support fueled by a clear mandate for change. The former prosecutor drew more than $4 million in contributions by late September, a testament to his standing in the legal community.

Heavy hitters like former Gov. Pete Wilson and top attorneys from major law firms contributed money and influence.

Hochman is no stranger to high-stakes moments. A former federal prosecutor, he campaigned as an independent with a vision he called the "hard middle approach." It's a strategy that promises to strike a balance between robust public safety measures and equitable reforms -- an approach that resonated with voters across party lines.

Contrasting with Gascón, who faced opposition from most of the county's 1,000 prosecutors during his campaign and was facing lawsuits by 25 of them plus two by the deputy DAs' union as of Tuesday, Hochman has started off on a better footing.

"We already have spent more time with Mr. Hochman that we ever had with Gascón in four years," Michele A. Hanisee, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, said in a phone interview Tuesday. "We just had an hour and a half lunch" with Hochman, she said.

Hanisee said Hochman's administration "will be better for the DAs because once again we will be able to have individualized evaluations of cases," rather than applying office-wide policies to all cases, such as in charging and sentencing requests.

"The new policies just came out. We have returned to the pre-Gascón policy manual, which is the same as under Jackie Lacey," Hanisee noted.

Hanisee said one change under Hochman is that if any deputy DA sees an indication that a policy appears to be unjust, they may bring it to the attention of the administration.

"What happened under Gascón is that policies were put in place and when DAs attempted to sometimes point out there were flaws, they were quickly reprimanded or punished," Hanisee said.

What happens to the 25 pending lawsuits by individual prosecutors against the DA's office and county will be up to the plaintiffs. Allegations included unfair treatment involving demotions and transfers as well as orders to obey policies the prosecutors considered to be illegal.

In litigation pending before the California Supreme Court, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys challenged Gascón's policies on the state's three strikes law. The association prevailed in the appellate court and Gascón appealed.

"There is a question about what will become of that," Hanisee said. "By reverting to the former policy he could make it moot," she said of possible action by Hochman.

Another lawsuit by the association, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accuses Gascón of failing to comply with the California Records Act, regarding office records. "Many of them in the most recent lawsuit filing are related to [Ethics and Integrity Advisor] Diana Teran," a former deputy public defender hired by Gascón. She was charged by the state attorney general with six felonies in connection with accessing and using computer data without permission. Some of the records being sought are to determine whether Teran is still on the payroll, earning $320,00 per year plus benefits, using office emails and retaining the private data she accessed.

Another question is whether county taxpayers are paying for her defense. "We don't know," Hanisee said. "They have completely failed to comply with all our Public Records Act requests.

"What we're really looking forward to is having open collaboration with the administration on the basis of working conditions as employees of the county," Hanisee said. As an example, she said, "there's been flooding in the building I'm in. Property has been damaged, files ruined, shoes have gotten wet, we have offices moved. These are things we deal with on a regular basis and it's important we have a collaborative relationship. With the prior administration we didn't have any but it's important for the mental health and morale of the union members."

Also speaking at the inauguration were his brother, David S. Hochman of Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro LLP, Deputy Mayor Brian K. Williams, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles Police Det. Chris Reza, who sang the National Anthem, Rabbi Naomi Levy, World War II veteran Chuck Wilson, Sheriff Robert Luna, former sheriff Jim McDonnell, and former district attorney Lacey.

No response was received to an email sent to several of Gascón's re-election campaign representatives seeking comment on Hochman's reversal of the policy manual and comments by his supporters.

Associate Editor Laurinda Keys contributed to this article.