George Gascón

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Gascón
Official portrait, 2021
43rd District Attorney of Los Angeles County
Assumed office
December 7, 2020
Preceded byJackie Lacey
28th District Attorney of San Francisco
In office
January 9, 2011 – October 19, 2019
Preceded byKamala Harris
Succeeded bySuzy Loftus (interim)
Chesa Boudin
Chief of the San Francisco Police Department
In office
January 8, 2010 – January 9, 2011
Preceded byHeather Fong
Succeeded byGreg Suhr
Chief of the Mesa Police Department
In office
2006–2009
Preceded byDennis Donna
Succeeded byFrank Milstead
Personal details
Born (1954-03-12) March 12, 1954 (age 70)
Havana, Cuba
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations
Republican (formerly)
SpouseFabiola Kramsky
EducationCalifornia State University, Long Beach (BA)
Western State College of Law (JD)

George Gascón (born March 12, 1954) is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican,[1] Gascón served as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2011 to 2019. Prior to his work as a prosecutor, he was an assistant chief of police for the LAPD, and Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and San Francisco.

Gascón was born in Havana, Cuba. In 1967, his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Bell, California. He joined the United States Army at the age of eighteen and became a sergeant.[2] After earning a Bachelor of Arts in history from California State–Long Beach, Gascón joined the Los Angeles Police Department as a patrol officer.

During his tenure with the Los Angeles Police Department, he attained the rank of assistant chief of police under Chief William Bratton. In 2006, Gascón was appointed chief of police for the Mesa Police Department. He had frequent clashes with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over immigration sweeps targeting Latinos.[3] In 2009, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón as the chief of police for the San Francisco Police Department. In 2011, after Kamala Harris was elected California Attorney General, Newsom appointed him to be the San Francisco district attorney. He was subsequently elected in his own right in November 2011, and again in 2015.[4] In 2020, Gascón unseated incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey with a reformist agenda.[5] Gascón's liberal and progressive policies received backlash during his time in San Francisco and Los Angeles, leading to several recall attempts in the latter role.[5][6]

Early life and education[edit]

Gascón was born on March 12, 1954, in pre-Communist Cuba. Shortly after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, his father lost his job for alleged anti-government activity, and his uncle, a union organizer, was jailed for over a decade.[7] In 1967, Gascón and his family emigrated from Cuba to the United States.

The family settled in Bell, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.[8] At the age of thirteen, Gascón enrolled in Los Angeles Unified School District schools where he struggled to learn English. He recalled: "I was spending hours translating everything with a Spanish-English dictionary. I started missing a lot of school."[9] By 1972, he dropped out of Bell High School.[9][10]

Gascón joined the United States Army in 1972. In the army, he earned his high school diploma and two years toward an undergraduate degree.[10] Gascón served in the 64th Military Police Detachment, much of it in Germany.[10] In 1975, he received an honorable discharge as a sergeant.[10] After the Army, Gascón completed a Bachelor of Arts in history from California State-Long Beach while working sales jobs.[10]

Los Angeles Police Department[edit]

In 1978, Gascón joined the Los Angeles Police Department as a patrol officer.[10] After a three-year stint with the LAPD, he returned to work in business management.[10] He served as a reserve officer in the Hollenbeck Division of LAPD until 1987.[10] In 1987, he returned to LAPD as a full-time police officer.[11] Upon his return, he rose through the ranks of LAPD as a Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, and Deputy Chief in 2002.[12] During his time with LAPD, Gascón earned his J.D. degree from Western State College of Law in 1996.

Training Commander after Rampart scandal[edit]

In 2000, he took command of the LAPD training unit at the height of the Rampart scandal.[10] He was in command of the LAPD training unit, overseeing the LAPD Academy and in-service training, during the federal government's oversight of police reforms. Even though there was a mandate for reform, then-Police Chief Bernard Parks did not allocate funding for additional training.[13] Gascón used a grant that had originally been funded to research community-policing strategies, and produced three hundred thousand additional training hours.[13]

One of his first orders as training commander was to create an ethics training manual for the LAPD.[13] He also implemented problem-based learning and posted a copy of the bill of rights in every LAPD classroom. Michael Gennaco, the former head of the United States Justice Department's civil rights division said at the time: "He fundamentally changed the way the LAPD teaches its officers about civil rights."[10]

In 2002, Gascón applied to be the Los Angeles Police Department Chief of Police. He wanted to partner with community agencies to reduce California's prisoner-recidivism rate.[13] William Bratton was ultimately appointed Chief of Police.

Assistant Chief of Police[edit]

In 2003, he was sworn in as Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department under Chief William Bratton.[12][14] In 2004, Gascón oversaw the daily operations of the department.[10] William Bratton credited Gascón with helping reduce the rate of violent crime in Los Angeles at that time.[3]

Mesa Chief of Police[edit]

In 2006, Gascón was hired as Chief of Police for the Mesa Police Department.[15] Gascón had frequent clashes with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over immigration sweeps allegedly targeting Latinos. Arpaio regularly conducted saturation patrols and immigration sweeps, targeting Latino neighborhoods and day laborers. Arpaio allegedly stopped cars with Latino drivers or passengers to check their immigration status.[3][16] Gascón condemned the policies and tactics of Arpaio and his deputies, and actively worked to protect the Latino community in Mesa.[3] He testified at a 2009 congressional hearing regarding the civil rights abuses committed by state and local police functioning as federal immigration agents.[17]

Gascón served as chief of the Mesa, Arizona police department from 2006 to 2009.[18]

San Francisco Chief of Police[edit]

Chief Gascón with U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi in 2010

Gascón served as San Francisco Police Department chief from August 2009 to January 2011, succeeding Heather Fong. He was replaced by Greg Suhr.[19] In 2009, San Francisco saw a significant drop in homicides, falling from 96 in 2008 to 45 in 2009. At the time, Gascón attributed the dramatic drop in homicides to the policies enacted by his predecessor. Between 2009 and 2011, (reported) violent crime decreased in San Francisco by 3%.[20]

In March 2010, Gascón made remarks about San Francisco's susceptibility to terrorism by the "Middle Eastern community" that upset Arab-Americans.[21][22] Several San Francisco police officers accused Gascón of calling African-Americans "those people" in "a derogatory way." Gascón denied making those remarks.[23][24]

San Francisco District Attorney[edit]

Gascón at San Francisco Pride in 2011.

In 2011, in his last act as Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón as San Francisco District Attorney, filling the job vacated by Kamala Harris. Gascón was subsequently elected in his own right in November 2011, and again in 2015.[4] In 2018, Gascón announced that he would not be seeking re-election, citing his need to care for his mother in Los Angeles.[25][26] He resigned from his San Francisco District Attorney position in October 2019.[27]

Bail reform[edit]

Gascón advocated for the end of cash bail.[28] Gascón brought the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) tool to San Francisco to assist courts in making bail decisions more equitably. Initial results indicate that for the 15 months following the implementation of the PSA tool, only 6% of defendants released went on to commit a new crime while awaiting trial, roughly half the rate observed during a similarly recorded period of time in 2006 during which cash bail was used exclusively to determine which defendants were released awaiting trial.[29]

Criticism[edit]

During Gascon's time as District Attorney, property crime increased by 49%. Some of Gascon's critics have blamed this increase on his office's reluctance to file charges against "High-level" offenders; during Gascon's tenure, misdemeanor charges were only filed in 40% of cases presented by the San Francisco Police Department.[30] Having worked with Gascon, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and City Attorney Dennis Herrera declined to endorse him in his bid to become the District Attorney of Los Angeles County; Breed and Herrera instead endorsed his opponent, the incumbent Jackie Lacey.[31]

Drug policy[edit]

In 2018, Gascón announced that he would apply California's Adult Use of Marijuana Act retroactively to every marijuana case since 1975 in order to level the playing field for those adversely affected by the criminalization of marijuana. The move cleared misdemeanor convictions and reduced felony convictions for those entitled for record relief under the act.[32] He partnered with Code for America, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which kicked off a national movement resulting in dozens of cities across the country clearing marijuana convictions.[33]

Prop 47, which was co-authored by Gascón, reduced simple drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor in California.[34]

Data management system[edit]

Gascón implemented and launched California's first prosecutorial data management system, similar to CompStat, called DA Stat.[35] This internal data collection tool is part of a trend toward "data-driven prosecution".

Investigations of police officers[edit]

Gascón launched a blue-ribbon panel,[36] which was set to investigate a scandal in the San Francisco Police Department regarding allegations that homophobic and racist texts had been exchanged between 14 or more police officers in 2014.[37]

In 2016, following recommendations of both the Department of Justice and Blue Ribbon Panel, Gascón secured funding to create the Independent Investigations Bureau, which investigates shootings involving police officers, excessive force, and in-custody deaths.[38]

Juvenile offenders[edit]

Gascón helped launch San Francisco's Young Adult Court in 2015.[39] He described the program as "a hybrid of the adult and juvenile justice systems tailored to the biology and circumstances of offenders 18 to 24."[39] In the program, a prosecutor refers a case to the Alternative Sentencing Planner (ASP) who determines if alternatives to incarceration in the community are appropriate.[40]

In 2019, Gascón supported San Francisco's move to close Juvenile Hall, citing studies showing that incarceration of juveniles significantly increases a young person's likelihood of recidivism and that "California's juvenile facilities aren't rehabilitating kids or making our communities safer."[41]

Gascón has taken a like approach to prosecuting youth in Los Angeles County, launching a program to spare minors from criminal charges for burglary, vehicle theft, arson, sexual battery, assault, and robbery in cases that resulted in no serious harm and involved no firearms, depending on the victims’ agreement, the offenders’ admission of responsibility, and the expectation that offenders meet their victims. This program's description in a memo drew prompt criticism from other officials, such as Sacramento Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert, who called it “reckless,” and Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Jon Hatami, who noted that it failed to bar offenders who used weapons other than guns.[42] "I don’t think any reasonable or experienced prosecutor would issue blanket policies,” said Hatami, “but George Gascón has no experience … in any court.”[43] Similarly, when a 17-year-old offender in a potentially fatal hit-and-run case was sentenced to five months’ detention in a juvenile probation camp, Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney denounced Gascón for leniency: "I would have been considering attempted murder charges and at least assault with a vehicle.… He obviously cares more for offenders than he does for victims."[44]

Legislation[edit]

Gascón coauthored Senate Bill 962, legislation requiring a "kill switch" on all smartphones sold in California.[45]

Gascón co-authored Proposition 47 that reduced many crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Proposition 47, according to one study, has reduced the disparity in arrests in San Francisco between Caucasians and African Americans by nearly half.[46] Some have criticized the law.[47][48]

Sexual assault[edit]

Gascón filed a civil complaint against Uber alleging that the company failed to protect riders from sex offenders and other people who have been convicted of serious felonies.[49]

Weekend rebooking[edit]

Gascón expanded the DA's Charging Unit to support "weekend rebooking" in order to reduce the jail population and reduce time in custody.[50]

Los Angeles County District Attorney[edit]

In 2019, Gascón announced he was running to be the District Attorney for Los Angeles County.[51] Contributions against Gascón largely came from law enforcement groups, such as one million dollars from the Los Angeles Police Protective League,[52] while contributions to his campaign came from progressive donors like George Soros, Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings.[53] Gascón's campaign was endorsed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.[54] Gascón campaigned on a platform of criminal justice reform, including opposing the death penalty and ending the practice of charging children as adults.[55][56] During the race, he indicated that he supported creating a civil rights division within the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.[57] Gascón defeated incumbent D.A. Jackie Lacey on November 6, 2020.[58]

Tenure[edit]

George Gascón was sworn in as the 43rd District Attorney of Los Angeles County on December 7, 2020.[59][60] Gascón implemented a series of policies on his first day as Los Angeles County D.A. by announcing that his office would not seek cash bail for certain minor offenses and would seek release for those currently awaiting such bail, would never seek the death penalty, and would end the charging of children as adults. He also announced plans to reevaluate any sentence for which the prisoner had already served 20 years, and to reopen several cases of officer-involved shootings that had been declined for filing from the previous eight years.[61]

Crime Victims Advisory Board[edit]

In December 2020, Gascón established the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office first Crime Victims Advisory Board.[62][63] The group is composed of survivors of various forms of crime who meet regularly, seek input from the larger community, and advise the office on policies related to victims' needs in relation to the criminal justice system.[62]

Death penalty[edit]

Gascón is against the death penalty.[61] In 2019, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a moratorium on capital punishment in California, however the sentence was still being sought in Los Angeles County.[64] Gascón withdrew the sentence of death being sought in 17 active cases upon taking office.[65] Gascón also announced his office is reviewing cases of those on California's death row from Los Angeles County who may be resentenced to life without parole.[66]

2022 Los Angeles City Council Recordings[edit]

Gascón is referenced on the 2022 Los Angeles City Council scandal leaked audio recordings of a meeting between Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmember Gil Cedillo, Councilmember Kevin de León and Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera. The audio recordings gained widespread attention due to the personal attacks, racist and colorist language, and discussion of political goals. The participants were discussing gerrymandering when Martinez stated, "Fuck that guy ... He's with the Blacks", referring to District Attorney George Gascón.[67]

Criticism[edit]

Gascón's policies have sparked outrage from some victims and their families, and revolt from some of his own prosecutors, who have sought to block him in court.[68][69][70] In at least one case, a criminal who received a light sentence due to Gascon's policies was recorded gloating about the lack of severity to their sentencing, not having to register as a sex offender, or go back to prison.[71]

Recall efforts[edit]

Within a week of Gascón assuming office, a Facebook page launched to garner support for recalling him from office.[72] February 2021, an effort began to place a proposition on an upcoming ballot to remove Gascón from office.[73] While the recall's most visible supporter was former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, it was led by former District Attorney Steve Cooley,[74] as well as Desiree Andrade and Tania Owen, two women who lost relatives to violent crime.[75][76] In March 2021, the effort to recall Gascón was started after a petition was approved, to which the group would need to gather 579,062 by October 2021.[77][78] In September 2021, the recall effort failed after the group were unable to gather enough signatures for the October deadline, but the group vowed to retry at a later time.[79]

Subsequently, a third attempt to recall the District Attorney began. On June 15, 2022, the group announced that they had secured more than 566,857 signatures required to officially make the ballot, with them shifting focus onto gathering more signatures to help with any invalidated signatures.[80][81] The group behind the recall effort submitted the signatures on July 6, 2022.[82] On July 9, 2022, the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk announced that the campaign had submitted 715,833 signatures, and would be conducting the verification process by using a 5% random sample of the total signatures.[83] On July 14, the Registrar announced that it has completed its check and would proceed to checking all the ballots.[84][85] On August 15, 2022, the recall petition failed as the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk stated that 195,783 signatures were invalid.[86]

Publications[edit]

  • "New Training Program Helps LAPD Meet Training Mandates", Police Chief, November 2001[87]

Awards[edit]

  • Visionary Award (2017), Southern California Leadership Network[88]
  • Top 100 Lawyers in California by the Daily Journal[89]
  • Anti-Defamation League's Civil Rights Award[90]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Gascon, a former Republican, becomes a Democrat ahead of political run". The San Francisco Examiner. January 14, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  2. ^ Stoltze, Frank. "George Gascon Has Said 'We Need To Turn Our Court System Upside Down.' Now He's Running To Be LA's Next DA". LAist. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d Stern, Ray (July 10, 2008). "Mesa Police Chief George Gascón stares down Sheriff Joe Arpaio". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "SFDOE Results". sfelections.org. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Arango, Tim (June 19, 2021). "Los Angeles Just Elected a Liberal D.A. He's Already Facing a Recall Effort". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  6. ^ Sernoffsky, Evan (October 21, 2019). "George Gascón was a progressive DA in progressive San Francisco. Why did he make so many enemies?". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "Beyond the Law: District Attorney George Gascón's threat to San Francisco's business as usual". SF Weekly. June 9, 2016. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "George Gascón running to unseat Jackie Lacey". Los Angeles Blade. February 20, 2020. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Nevius, C. W. (January 7, 2012). "George Gascón: From high school dropout to DA". SFGate. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "He Said No to Naysayers". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 2004. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Rivera, Carla (January 10, 2011). "San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon named district attorney". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Two New Assistant Chiefs to be Sworn In at Police Commission Meeting - Los Angeles Police Department". lapdonline.org. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d Fremon, Celeste (September 4, 2002). "Rewriting the Book". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "Chief Bratton Makes Three Great Picks ... LA Community Policing". www.lacp.org. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  15. ^ Branom, Mike. "Gascón to lead Mesa police department". East Valley Tribune. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  16. ^ "George Gascón: The Fight For Justice". UCLA Blueprint. Archived from the original on May 14, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  17. ^ "State and Local Enforcement of Immigration Laws | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  18. ^ Mayor Picks Arizona Chief Archived August 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  19. ^ From High School Dropout to Police Chief Archived May 3, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  20. ^ Berton, Justin (January 2, 2011). "S.F. cops: Homicide up, overall violent crime down". SFGate. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  21. ^ Keeling, Brock (March 26, 2010). "Police Chief Gascón Angers Middle Eastern and Arab Community". SFist. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  22. ^ Knight, Heather (March 26, 2010). "Police chief's remarks on terrorism anger Arabs". SF Gate. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  23. ^ Ho, Vivian (March 9, 2016). "SF D.A. Gascón's divide with law enforcement deepens". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  24. ^ "SF Police Union Officials Claim DA Gascon Made Racist Remarks At Drunken Party". CBS SF Bay Area. March 2, 2016. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  25. ^ KGO (October 3, 2018). "San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon will not seek reelection". ABC7 San Francisco. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  26. ^ "San Francisco Police Chief George Gascon named district attorney". Los Angeles Times. January 10, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  27. ^ Lagos, Marisa (October 3, 2019). "San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon Resigns". KQED. Archived from the original on October 4, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  28. ^ State must make cash bail system just and protect public safety Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  29. ^ Bail or Jail? Tool Used by San Francisco Courts Shows Promising Results Archived May 3, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  30. ^ Queally, James (February 18, 2020). "How Jackie Lacey's and George Gascón's time in office shapes the L.A. County D.A.'s race". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  31. ^ McGahan, Jason (November 23, 2019). "Why Do Officials Who Worked with George Gascón in S.F. Appear to Be Snubbing Him Now?". Los Angeles Magazine. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  32. ^ San Francisco To Expunge Thousands Of Marijuana Convictions Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  33. ^ SF district attorney to wipe out 9,000-plus pot cases going back to 1975 Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  34. ^ "Prop. 47 is necessary to put war on drugs behind us". SFChronicle.com. November 23, 2018. Archived from the original on March 6, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  35. ^ SF DA Gascón launches state's first website showing prosecution data Archived July 9, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  36. ^ Blue Ribbon Panel Archived November 14, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  37. ^ San Francisco cops accused of exchanging racist text messages Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  38. ^ The San Francisco District Attorney is now the lead investigator of police shootings Archived June 25, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  39. ^ a b Singal, Jesse (April 18, 2017). "San Francisco's Trying to Lock Up Fewer Young Men by Heeding Cognitive Science". The Cut. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  40. ^ "Changing the Life Trajectory of Justice-Involved Young Adults in San Francisco". www.hks.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  41. ^ "Open Forum: San Francisco is right to close juvenile hall". SFChronicle.com. June 10, 2019. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  42. ^ Queally, James (December 21, 2021). "Gascón launches juvenile diversion program amid claims it goes too far". Los Angeles Times.
  43. ^ Wallace, Danielle (February 8, 2022). "Los Angeles assistant DA rips George Gascon for 'failing' kids by not prosecuting DUIs as new recall underway". Fox News.
  44. ^ Haskell, Josh (June 10, 2022). "Venice woman hit by teen driver while walking with baby in stroller speaks out against Gascón". KABC-TV.
  45. ^ Cell Phone Thefts Decrease in S.F. Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  46. ^ Research finds Prop. 47 has reduced racial disparities in drug arrests Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.
  47. ^ "Movement builds to correct major flaw in Prop. 47". Los Angeles Times. Archived February 28, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  48. ^ "Criminal justice reform is a great cause. Defending a bad law isn't." San Diego Union Tribune.Archived December 30, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  49. ^ KGO (August 20, 2015). "San Francisco district attorney says Uber hires killers, rapists". ABC7 San Francisco. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  50. ^ "City has a plan to prevent unneeded weekend jail stays". SFChronicle.com. June 20, 2017. Archived from the original on April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  51. ^ Arango, Tim (October 28, 2019). "George Gascon Enters Race for District Attorney in Los Angeles". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  52. ^ "LA Police Union Contributes $1 Million To Anti-George Gascón PAC". The Appeal. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  53. ^ "Here are the mega-donors and police unions pouring millions into L.A. County D.A. Race". Los Angeles Times.
  54. ^ Twitter; Instagram; Email; Facebook (August 25, 2020). "Gov. Gavin Newsom endorses George Gascón in Los Angeles County D.A.'s race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  55. ^ "Criminal justice reformer wins LA district attorney's race". AP NEWS. May 1, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  56. ^ staff, Times (November 4, 2020). "From George Gascón to jail diversion, criminal justice reform got a big boost in California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  57. ^ Munoz, Anabel (December 12, 2019). "LA County DA challengers address homelessness, death penalty during debate". ABC7 Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  58. ^ Kamisher, Eliyahu (November 6, 2020). "George Gascón Wins Race For Los Angeles D.A. In Major Victory For Progressive Prosecutor Movement". The Appeal.
  59. ^ "Meet the DA | Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office". da.lacounty.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  60. ^ "George Gascón Sworn In As DA, Lays Out Extensive, Ambitious Series Of Reforms". LAist. December 7, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  61. ^ a b Meeks, Alexandra; Holcombe, Madeline (December 8, 2020). "New Los Angeles DA announces end to cash bail, the death penalty and trying children as adults". CNN. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  62. ^ a b "A New Volunteer Board Is Looking at How L.A. County Can Better Serve Crime Victims". Los Angeles Magazine. May 6, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  63. ^ "USC Social Work Professor and Alumna Appointed to First-Ever Los Angeles County Crime Victims Advisory Board". USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  64. ^ Twitter; Instagram; Email; Facebook (June 18, 2019). "Under D.A. Jackie Lacey, only people of color have been sentenced to death, report says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 11, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  65. ^ "'Highly Unusual For A DA': Gascón Touts His Push To Cut Prison Sentences". LAist. March 17, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  66. ^ Jeunesse, William La (August 9, 2022). "LA DA Gascon vows to resentence inmates on 'racist' death row, angering victims' families". Fox News. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  67. ^ Peltz, Jon (October 9, 2022). "In Leaked Audio, LA City Councilmembers Hurl Racist Comments". Knock LA. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  68. ^ Hayes, Rob (December 15, 2020). "LA County DA George Gascon's plan to reduce sentences sparks concern from his own prosecutors". KABC. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  69. ^ Hayes, Rob (December 15, 2020). "Crime victims' families lash out at LA County DA George Gascon over new policies". KABC. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  70. ^ White, Jeremy B. "California prosecutors revolt against Los Angeles DA's social justice changes". POLITICO. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  71. ^ "California trans child molester Hannah Tubbs gloats over light sentence in jailhouse phone calls". www.foxla.com. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  72. ^ "Crime victims' families lash out at LA County DA George Gascon over new policies". ABC7 Los Angeles. December 15, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  73. ^ Poston, Ben (February 27, 2021). "Victims rights advocates launch recall effort against newly elected L.A. Dist. Atty. George Gascón". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  74. ^ "An Effort to Recall Los Angeles D.A. George Gascón is Underway: What Happens Now?". Los Angeles Times. May 21, 2021.
  75. ^ "Los Angeles County registrar approves recall petition for Dist. Atty. George Gascón". Los Angeles Times. January 28, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  76. ^ Suter, Leanne (March 1, 2021). "Recall effort launched against LA County DA George Gascón, with support from Sheriff Villanueva". ABC 7 Eyewitness News. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  77. ^ "Group launches recall campaign against LA County District Attorney George Gascón". Los Angeles Daily News. February 27, 2021.
  78. ^ "Signature-gathering approved for recall effort against DA George Gascón, organizers say". KABC-TV. May 20, 2021.
  79. ^ Stoltze, Frank (September 16, 2021). "Effort To Recall LA DA Gascón Fails; Backers Vow To Try Again". LAist.
  80. ^ "Gascón recall campaign says it has more than 566,857 signatures, enough to officially make ballot". KABC-TV. June 15, 2022.
  81. ^ "Los Angeles DA George Gascón recall group says it has collected required signatures to put matter on ballot". KTTV. June 15, 2022.
  82. ^ Saucedo, Carlos (July 6, 2022). "Recall petitions against L.A. County DA Gascón delivered". KTLA.
  83. ^ Carcamo, Cindy (July 9, 2022). "715,833 signatures turned in to recall L.A. County D.A. Gascón, election officials say". Los Angeles Times.
  84. ^ "LA County to review signatures submitted to recall Gascón". Daily Breeze. July 14, 2022.
  85. ^ Sabes, Adam (July 14, 2022). "LA County DA George Gascon recall effort clears first hurdle as registrar prepares 'full check' of signatures". Fox News.
  86. ^ Queally, James (August 15, 2022). "Effort to force L.A. Dist. Atty. George Gascón into recall election fails". Los Angeles Times.
  87. ^ "NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service". www.ncjrs.gov. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  88. ^ "Southern California Leadership Network Celebrates 30th Anniversary by Recognizing 30 Outstanding Leaders During 2017 Visionaries Awards". lachamber.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.[permanent dead link]
  89. ^ BASF Bulletin Board: Our Members and Leaders Circle Firms Making Headlines[permanent dead link] Referenced October 9, 2019.
  90. ^ ADL Awards Luncheon Event Archived October 7, 2019, at the Wayback Machine Referenced October 9, 2019.

External links[edit]