Former federal prosecutor and Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman, who is running for Los Angeles District Attorney against incumbent George Gascón spoke exclusively with Annenberg Media October 2 about his vision for public safety in Los Angeles County.
He described his “hard middle” approach as being between what he described as Gascón’s decarceration policies and mass incarceration. When Gascón entered office he signed directives that barred prosecutors from adding “sentencing enhancements,” trying juveniles as adults and prosecuting many misdemeanor crimes.
“Your first time nonviolent offender, if they violate society’s laws they have to pay a debt back to society,” said Hochman. “But that doesn’t have to be prison. It can be community service, you know help out your school if you violate the law, you know pick up trash on the side of the freeway, it can be restitution, if you steal something pay it back, or if you do have a serious drug addiction it can be a diversion program.”
He said his goal if elected is to deter criminals from commiting crimes to begin with.
“If at the end of four years of my administration if all I’ve succeeded in doing is filling the prisons to the breaking point, I’m telling you right now I have failed, that is not the effective measure of a criminal justice system,” said Hochman.
He said that Gascón has been choosing to prosecute only laws that he likes and said it was the job of the district attorney to enforce all laws. Hochman is referring to a special directive signed by Gascon on Dec. 7, 2020 that instructs prosecutors to decline or dismiss a range of misdemeanor crimes before arraignment.
“If there are certain laws that Gascón just doesn’t like, he’s in the wrong job,” said Hochman. “He should have run for state legislature to go ahead and change the law. He can pass propositions, in fact he’s the co-author of Proposition 47. He could become the governor or a congressman.”
Hochman said that Gascón had failed in his own mission of criminal justice reform in Los Angeles County, especially when it came to holding police officers accountable.
“My focus is to prioritize safety while still enacting real and effective criminal justice reform,” said Hochman. “Gascón has actually tried to do the latter, the reform, completely failed.
“He actually was complaining about all the lack of prosecution that his predecessor did with police officers who were shooting unarmed Black men. Supposedly he was gonna review dozens of cases. He hired a guy for $750,000 a year, a special prosecutor and in three and a half years he brought one case that is caught up in the courts,” claimed Hochman.
The latest poll released from the Los Angeles Times and UC Berkeley showed Hochman leading with 51% compared to Gascón’s 21%, while 28% remain undecided.
Mail in ballots began arriving at homes Oct. 7. Election day is Nov. 5.