There is a hearing in civil court at the end of January. An injunction has been filed against the new District Attorney related to many of his policies, such as the three strikes law being basically abolished in Los Angeles County, all enhancements being struck, and a variety of other issues related to his policies.
A Superior Court Judge will decide whether or not these policies are, in fact, lawful or not.
This argument is joined, obviously, by many people in his office. Many of the current District Attorneys do not like the policies, are trying to stall them while they wait and see what happens, and are fighting against them in various ways.
So, the current District Attorney has his work cut out for him if he is going to save some of these policies.
Challenged By Judges and Prosecutors
Another thing that I've seen is that he has pulled back on some of the policies in the sense that he is not having his office implement them. Of course, this is on the down low, so his constituents aren't angry.
He's really put himself in a bad position here by promising all of these things, and now he's being attacked by his deputies and judges who are not following the policies.
I've even heard that many of the surrounding counties are joining this movement because, from their perspective, all the criminals are now going to go to Los Angeles County. So, I really don't understand the logic behind their problem with the new policies.
The bottom line is that it will be very interesting to see whether these new policies hold up from a criminal defense standpoint.
Having practiced in the Los Angeles area now for the past almost 30 years, it certainly is a change that will shift the pendulum if it can hold up to the other side.
Diversion Programs Rather than Prison Time
When I say the other side, it now will look at trying to help some of these people who are looking at many years in prison versus trying to put them in prison for a long time.
There's mental health, I think that is going to be utilized as an alternative for those individuals who have mental issues, and there are various other programs and policies that the new District Attorney is championing.
I think his policies will hold up to a large degree because, as an elected official, I do think he has the power to implement the policies he wants.
He was voted into office as the District Attorney. He decides how his office will prosecute criminal cases in Los Angeles.
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