Hochman to be sworn in as L.A. County District Attorney at noon

Nathan Hochman is set to assume office Monday as the top prosecutor for Los Angeles County. The new District Attorney will be sworn in by Arnold Schwarzenegger at noon, outside the Hall of Justice in downtown L.A.

Hochman prevailed in the November election, which pitted him against progressive incumbent George Gascón. Hochman ran on an approach he described as “hard-middle,” advocating increased sentencing for certain crimes and an end to Gascón policies he described as “anti-carceral.”

Gascón, meanwhile, defended his record. According to his campaign, he increased environmental and labour protections, while maintaining sentences for violent crimes.

Fundraising in the race became a major issue, with Hochman outraising his opponent by a factor of five-to-one. Concerted efforts by law enforcement and small business groups are thought to have accounted for much of the difference.

Ultimately, the election delivered a clear result: Hochman won by a margin of 59.9% to 40.1%.

Hochman took to X after the race to claim that the result was a rebuke of “Gascon’s pro-criminal extreme policies.” He continued, “As D.A., I look forward to representing all of the people, whether they voted for me or not, since their safety will be my responsibility.”

One early test of the new prosecutor’s strategy will be the resentencing hearing of the Menendez Brothers, now delayed to early next year. Lyle and Erik Menendez were sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in the 1989 murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home.

Popular pressure to reduce their punishment has mounted since the release of a film about their case earlier this year, as well as the emergence of new evidence the brothers say corroborates their claim that their father sexually abused them. Hochman stated that the delayed hearing will give him time to review the case.

It remains to be seen to what extent Hochman’s policies will differ from those already in place. “I’m not going to replace one extreme policy with extreme policies on the other end of the pendulum swing,” he told LAist. “So I’m not bringing back mass incarceration policies.”

Still, he has promised to implement some measures more punitive than those pursued by his predecessor. Hochman says that he will seek the death penalty in “rare” cases, although a moratorium on capital punishment is currently in place at the state level. 

He has also pledged to use tools known as “sentencing enhancements” more aggressively than Gascón. These measures allow prosecutors to seek harsher sentences when certain factors are present during a crime, such as the possession of a deadly weapon by the perpetrator.

The incoming D.A. has the endorsement of the L.A. Association of Deputy D.A.’s, a professional organization representing much of the rank-and-file of the D.A.’s office. 

This is likely to aid him in implementing his plans, as Gascón was stymied by opposition from within his office.