Many voters in Los Angeles County, one of the most progressive and steadfastly Democratic counties in the nation, may be considering a former Republican for the Los Angeles County District Attorney in November general election as Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, is leading by double digits in a poll against the incumbent, George Gascón.
In an effort to reassure Los Angeles voters that he’s no hard-liner, Hochman, who became independent in 2023, said he too is against mass incarceration like Gascón. But the difference, Hochman said, is that if he is elected, he would look at each case individually.
“I reject extreme policies as any prosecutor actually does,” Hochman said, bashing what he called Gascón’s “blanket” policies. “You have to look at each case individually. Look at the defendant, the defendant's background. Look at the crime committed and the impact on the victim to determine who the true threats are to our public safety and need to be behind bars and quite candidly the ones that aren't.”
Despite the endorsements from Los Angeles police unions and law enforcement associations, criminal justice reform advocates including Black Live Matter and the American Civil Liberties Union may be concerned Hochman would try to reverse some of the reforms implemented by Gascón.
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But the one-time California attorney general candidate assured during an interview with NBC Los Angeles’ NewsConference that he too would free wrongfully convicted people and pursue police accountability – only more efficiently than the incumbent
“I will be the first DA in history that not only has a prosecutorial background, but actually a defense attorney,” Hochman explained “I go into court every single day promoting the presumption of innocence, forcing the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury at a unanimous level.”
When it comes to responding to campus unrest led by pro-Palestinian protesters as seen at UCLA and USC, Hochman said he would draw the line.
“A DA needs to say that proactively and say very clearly to the protestors, ‘Here are the lines, I'm going to enforce it, here are the real consequences. And if you cross those lines, yes, you will be held accountable and go to jail.’ Hochman said.
“My fervent goal as being DA is to promote deterrence. I will know I have created an effective criminal justice system if criminals are being deterred from committing crimes in the first place.”
