Nathan Hochman sworn in by Arnold Schwarzenegger as Los Angeles County D.A.
Flanked by one of the city’s most famous action heroes, Nathan Hochman began his term as Los Angeles County district attorney Tuesday by promising to restore justice and balance to a prosecutor’s office he believes lost its way over the last four years.
Hochman, 61, was sworn in by former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in front of a crowd of hundreds of enthusiastic supporters as the “Terminator” star dramatically announced “the city of Los Angeles is now going to be back.”
Hochman — a former federal prosecutor — kicked off his administration by immediately wiping away many of the policies ex-Dist. Atty. George Gascón put in place on his inauguration day nearly four years ago.
The Gascón policies he instantly struck down included blanket bans that stopped prosecutors from seeking the death penalty and filing charges for low-level misdemeanors such as drug possession and trespassing. Hochman also eliminated restrictions on the use of sentencing enhancements that can add years to prison terms for gang and gun crimes and decreed that prosecutors can again join victims at parole hearings, a Gascón policy that had long outraged victims’ rights groups.
Much like Schwarzenegger, who has expressed concern about politics that hurt public safety and said he doesn’t “like either party right now,” Hochman ran as an independent and centrist. A former Republican, Hochman easily parried Gascón’s attempts to label him as a right-wing extremist and defeated the incumbent by a nearly 20-point margin, attracting voters in deep-blue L.A. County with a campaign that offered a “hard middle” approach to fighting crime.
“We are not here today as Democrats, independents or Republicans. … We are here collectively as Angelenos who represent the 10 million clients of the district attorney’s office who are looking to live in a county where safety is prioritized,” Hochman said in a speech Tuesday. “Where laws are followed. Those who break them are held accountable. And the process to get there is fair, impartial, ethical and effective.”
Schwarzenegger said he supported Hochman because he blamed Gascón for a rise in lawlessness and chaos in L.A. County.
Violent and property crime rose countywide from 2019 to 2023, mostly under Gascón’s watch, but that also came during a post-pandemic crime surge that hit other California counties several times harder. Violent crime is down about 5% in Los Angeles this year, according to LAPD data, and criminologists have cast doubt on the idea that Gascón, or any progressive prosecutor, should be blamed for ebbs and flows of crime trends.
But to many voters, and the former governor, the connection couldn’t be clearer.
“Government’s No. 1 responsibility is to protect its citizens,” Schwarzenegger said. “Let’s never forget that. And Los Angeles has failed.”
Hochman’s speech was met by raucous cheers from hundreds of law enforcement leaders and prosecutors, many of whom waited in the street to chant for their new boss after years of warring with Gascón. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell, Sheriff Robert Luna and former Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey were all in attendance, as Hochman promised a renewed partnership with police under his administration.
Referring to the “facts and the law” as his North Star, Hochman repeated his promise to balance criminal justice reform and public safety, without contributing to California’s issues with prison overpopulation, which he called a systemic failure.
While he plans to let prosecutors pursue death verdicts again, Hochman said they can only do so in “rare” cases, including school shootings or the “cold-blooded assassination of a police officer.” A moratorium issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 prevents executions from taking place.
After routing Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón on Tuesday night, Nathan Hochman says he plans to review high-profile cases and undo many of the incumbent’s policies on Day 1.
On misdemeanor crimes, Hochman vowed to bring charges where Gascón didn’t but also offer first-time nonviolent offenders prison alternatives, including diversion and restitution programs. In cases where defendants were driven to commit their crimes because of addiction issues, Hochman plans to have prosecutors offer a choice between prison or an 18-month intensive rehabilitation program.
“Filling the prisons to the breaking point is the failure of the criminal justice system,” Hochman said. “The true goal of an effective criminal justice administration is ‘Can you deter the criminals from committing the crimes in the first place?’”
Hochman announced the formation of several task forces to deal with homelessness, fentanyl, human trafficking, organized retail crime, residential burglary and hate crimes, which would involve partnerships with local law enforcement and county and city agencies that aid the unhoused. He did not offer specifics about the task forces in his speech.
Some county leaders, including Public Defender Ricardo Garcia, expressed concern about Hochman’s potential to go too far in erasing Gascón’s legacy.
“I don’t think voters were voting to support the return of the death penalty, gang enhancements or charging children as adults,” he said, adding that he believes voters reacted to a sense of lawlessness on the streets driven by the county’s homelessness crisis.
The new district attorney is also expected to retool the office’s leadership structure by ousting some of Gascón’s closest handpicked advisors. Last month, Hochman named Steve Katz, a 34-year veteran of the office who recently led the Public Integrity Division, to replace Joseph Iniguez as chief deputy district attorney. Hochman also booted former public defenders Shelan Joseph and Tiffiny Blacknell from their positions as special counsel and chief of staff, according to a November e-mail sent by Katz that was obtained by The Times.
Iniguez and Joseph did not respond to requests for comment, and it was not clear where they would be reassigned. Blacknell was transferred back to the public defender’s office late Monday, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.
In a statement, Blacknell said her removal was a “direct consequence” of her criticisms of police brutality, and argued the decision was political in nature. She declined to comment further when asked about being transferred. Garcia declined to comment on the personnel changes.
“My removal is essentially a campaign promise from Hochman himself, aimed at silencing anyone who dares to challenge the entrenched status quo,” Blacknell said in a statement.
Hochman also elevated some of his opponents from the March primary to leadership roles. Former Judge Craig Mitchell, who has done extensive work on Skid Row, said he will lead a task force dedicated to combating the county’s homelessness crisis. Deputy Dist. Atty. Maria Ramirez was also promoted to assistant district attorney, making her one of Hochman’s closest advisors as he takes office.
When Gascón took office four years ago, he blindsided many in his office with an inauguration address that announced drastic policy changes, kicking off years of bitter contention and lawsuits between him and his staff. Leaders of the union that represented rank-and-file prosecutors say they’re “hopefully optimistic” about improved relations with the incoming administration.
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“We were encouraged by our meeting with him two weeks ago. He gave us more time than the prior administration had given us in four years combined and I would call it a productive and open meeting in which we discussed core concerns for our members,” said Ryan Erlich, vice president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys.
Hochman also got a small taste Tuesday of the progressive forces determined to challenge him at every turn. A small group of protesters, led by Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, repeatedly booed and hissed from the street during Hochman’s speech.
Melina Abdullah, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles, has led a chorus of voices worried that Hochman won’t aggressively pursue police misconduct cases, as Gascón did, due to his closeness with law enforcement groups.
One man appeared to be detained by law enforcement and led away, though representatives for the Los Angeles police and sheriff’s departments could not provide any information early Tuesday afternoon.
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