'Opportunity of a lifetime': Nathan Hochman to be sworn in Tuesday as LA County district attorney

Incoming Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman will be sworn in Tuesday on the front steps of the Hall of Justice, ending four years of the most progressive policies the office has ever seen.

Hochman takes over from D.A. George Gascón, who was known as the godfather of progressive prosecutors but also became a lightning rod for criticism both inside and outside the office.

In general, criminal defendants faced a less punitive justice system under Gascón, whose office prosecutes about 180,000 cases annually.

Voters soundly rejected his approach. Hochman beat Gascón 60% to 40%, or by more than 600,000 votes.

Hochman has vowed to roll back what he called Gascón’s “blanket pro-criminal extreme policies.”

“We’re going to look at each case individually,” he said.

Hochman has said the death penalty, for one, is back on the table, even though Gov. Gavin Newsom has placed a moratorium on executions in California while he is in office.

How Hochman policies differ from Gascón's

Hochman is a former federal prosecutor who once ran the tax division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. For more than two decades, he’s been a criminal defense attorney. He is the second criminal defense attorney to be elected D.A, after John Van de Kamp who was federal public defender before he became district attorney in 1975.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Hochman told LAist. “I’m taking over an office that has been considered one of the premiere D.A.’s offices in the nation.”

Four years ago, Gascón enacted a wide range of reforms. He no longer allowed his prosecutors to seek the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. He curtailed the use of sentencing enhancements that can add many years to a person’s prison sentence. And he stopped prosecuting a range of low level misdemeanors, including driving on a suspended license, drug and paraphernalia possession, and public intoxication.

One example of how Hochman will be different: He has vowed to file gang enhancements against people who commit crimes for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Such filings plummeted to near zero under Gascón, who said they unfairly targeted men of color.

A gang enhancement can add 10 years to a person’s sentence.

“We will be bringing it back in the appropriate cases,” he said.

At the same time, Hochman said he won’t return the office to the days when it sought to impose draconian sentences.

“I’m not going to replace one extreme policy with extreme policies on the other end of the pendulum swing,” he said. “So I’m not bringing back mass incarceration policies.”

‘Open mind’ on Menendez brothers

An early test of Hochman’s approach will come with the Menendez brothers. Gascón has recommended they be resentenced and paroled after serving nearly 35 years in prison for the 1989 shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"I believe that they have paid their debt to society," Gascón has said, noting new evidence that suggests Lyle and Erik Menendez were sexually molested by their father.

Hochman said he wants to review the case before taking a position.

“I come in with an open mind,” he said. “I want to see all the facts. I want to apply them against the law and make a decision on that basis.”

The judge in the case said last week he wants to hear whether Hochman will agree with Gascón. The new D.A.’s stance could play a significant role in the judge’s decision. A two-day resentencing hearing is set to begin Jan. 30.

Prosecutors happy with change of guard

Inside the District Attorney’s Office, Hochman will likely have a better relationship with frontline prosecutors than Gascón, who imposed dramatic reforms without consulting any of the lawyers charged with implementing them.

The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, which represents 800 rank-and-file prosecutors, endorsed Hochman in the election.

“I’m excited about a fresh start,” said Ryan Erlich, the association’s vice president.

Many prosecutors opposed Gascón’s more lenient approach to defendants. Others said Gascón retaliated against those who challenged him. Gascón also populated his top staff with former public defenders, which irked many prosecutors.

“There’s just been a lot of tension in the office,” Erlich said. Now, he said, “there’s optimism and hope.”

Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will swear Hochman in. The ceremony will begin at noon outside the Hall of Justice in downtown L.A. and is open to the public.