Deputy District Attorneys: The Unseen Heroes Who Stood Against George Gascón’s Damaging Policies and Defended Justice in Los Angeles County
By Michele Hanisee
When George Gascón swept into office four years ago, he did so with community support for what he called “reforms.” Experienced prosecutors recognized them for what they were: abstract promises and untested experiments. Gascon’s “reforms” crashed and burned, in part because he refused to seek buy-in from or heed the advice of the seasoned attorneys within his office. His failures weren’t purely academic; they pushed our communities to their breaking point. Now the dust has settled on the election, and the voters have made it clear that they prioritize public safety over misguided policy. More importantly, they have unambiguously said that they are done with George Gascón.
But what the citizens of Los Angeles will never know is how much worse it would have and could have been, but for the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the 700-plus career prosecutors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
When Gascón rolled into town from San Francisco in late 2019, he did so with unvarnished contempt for these attorneys. When he was taking office, he diverted resources from trial units to his pet projects, forcing already-strapped line prosecutors to do more with much, much less. He retaliated against anyone who questioned his policies or his management style. He passed qualified people over for promotion and installed political allies in positions of power. He transferred those who questioned him to lesser assignments. The implicit and explicit messaging was clear — get with his program or get exiled.
Hobbled as they were, our DAs didn’t give up. They had cases to handle, ethical and legal obligations to uphold, and victims of crime to comfort. So they did whatever was in their power to do. They got creative. They worked nights and weekends. They threaded the loopholes of policy. They stuck their necks out, knowing (sadly) that doing the right thing and following the law could upset Gascon and hurt their careers.
They fought for justice, one case at a time, one victim at a time, one day at a time. They kept the boat afloat when Gascón was trying to sink it. For four long years.
I was in the office and court the morning after Election Day 2024. What I saw was surprising but also *not* surprising. No one was burning Gascon in effigy. I didn’t see anyone jubilantly celebrating the imminent departure of the man who had treated them with so much contempt and who had made their jobs – jobs they loved – so difficult for the last four years. Instead, I saw true professional prosecutors going to court, picking juries, conducting trials, interviewing witnesses, and diligently continuing the day-to-day work of keeping the justice system running. In a moment when they could have been popping champagne corks, these humble, stolid public servants had their shoulders to the yoke, again.
I could not have been prouder of my colleagues.
This is for them.
Michele Hanisee is President of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys, the collective bargaining agent representing nearly 900 Deputy District Attorneys.
