L.A. District Attorney George Gascón is fighting his own staff in court to defend his sweeping new policies designed to reduce mass incarceration and end racial disparities in the justice system.
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, the union that represents Gascón s prosecutors, has sued the DA, arguing that his special order to stop using so-called sentencing enhancements violates state law. Enhancements can tack on many years to a prison sentence.
A prosecutor can add enhancements for defendants who are members of a gang, use a gun during the commission of a crime, or commit a second or third strike that is a serious or violent felony.