Commit to addressing racial and class disparities in LA City arrests and prosecutions

Not prosecuting 41.18 & 56.11

Not charge other offenses related to homelessness, such as trespassing & loitering

Not prosecuting Gascón misdemeanor reforms

No prosecution (or threatened prosecution) of peaceful protesters

No prosecution (or threatened prosecution) of journalists

No prosecution of street vendors for pursuing their livelihoods

No prosecution of sex work offenses

Commit to drastically reducing the number of misdemeanors prosecuted

Commit to not using sentence enhancements (parity with Gascón)

Commit to only using LAMC 104.15 to pursue prosecution of owners of unlicensed dispensaries (and support City Council reform of LAMC 104.15 to remove liability for employees, agents, contractors, and volunteers)

Commit to not seeking cash bail and pretrial detention for misdemeanors (in parity with Gascón’s cash bail directive)

Default to least restrictive measures for pretrial release (ex. No electronic monitoring)

Structural

Double the size of the Affirmative Litigation Branch in the first year by committing to use the $25 million exclusive for consumer protection work won through the Wells Fargo Settlement

Create partnerships and avenues for public input in affirmative litigation cases; this could look like:

• Rental registry where tenants and organizers can flag/the City Attorney can track/investigate abusive practices by landlords
• Signing common interest agreements with worker advocacy groups and unions - so that information can be exchanged two- ways in a manner that is privileged and confidential - and holding regular convenings of these groups to get inputs on abusive employers
• Advertising the current portal for consumer complaints

Environmental Litigation

Pursue companies dumping toxic chemicals into vulnerable communities

Sue companies who have contributed to climate change. Some examples:

• Oil companies that have contributed to climate change (as San Francisco and Santa Clara have done)
• Banks and investment companies that have financed fossil fuel companies
• Companies that fund or spread climate change denial (from Chevron to Koch Industries to Facebook), see here.

Involve community voices when negotiating and structuring remedies so that the most impacted communities receive reparations and restitution, or defendants are forced to fund or undertake specific projects in those communities to improve public health and environment

Worker Protection

Aggressively prosecute wage theft to ensure that workers are paid city minimum wage, paid for all hours worked, given their paid sick leave and benefits, and given their covered breaks and time off

Pursue companies misclassifying workers as independent contractors and denying them minimum wage and benefits, particularly companies exploiting the gig economy to this effect

Pioneer lawsuits that curb abusive workplaces and employment discrimination; for example, California’s Unfair Competition law could be used as a tool to:

• Hold companies accountable for ignoring sexual harassment complaints thus perpetuating a culture of impunity for discrimination
• Hold companies accountable that for not hiring BIPOC workers or creating workplaces where they can succeed
• Prosecute companies that are interfering with workers’ efforts to unionize

Tenants' Rights

Sue slumlords who provide substandard and illegal dwellings

Sue landlords who use tactics to pressure tenants to leave their homes or evict them under pretext

Partner with providers of eviction defense to inform affirmative litigation and distribute remedies

Push back when the city council is considering unconstitutional measures. For example, earlier iterations of 41.18 have been struck down repeatedly by the 9th Circuit as violating the 8th Amendment Right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment; it is the city attorney’s duty to prevent its client (council) from violating the law by passing further unconstitutional litigation.

Do not write more laws to criminalize homelessness

Redefine what settlements in the public interest look like — seek to protect the public interested, broadly defined, not just the bottom line of the city budget

Police Discipline for LAPD

Decline to prosecute charges based on LAPD racial profiling & pretext stops

Ensure LAPD is not violating civil rights with respect to policies regarding use of force, surveillance, etc.

Ending use of Gang Injunctions by the City Attorney’s office, period

Ending/dismantling CNAP and use of 47.50 / nuisance evictions

Reverse & retract LA City Attorney position expressed in People v. Duenas

Adopt Gascón fines & fees policy

Renew & expand dismissal of past tickets and warrants

Commit to eliminating fines & fees, ending collection of criminal system administrative fees for the City

Make diversion the default for misdemeanor offenses (in parity with Gascón’s misdemeanor directive)

Emphasizing pre-trial diversion over post-trial diversion

Make this the default

Ending abuse of diversion to get convictions

No limiting entry to diversion -- access to all who want it

Actively work with defense counsel in individual cases to avoid immigration consequences of criminal charges, prosecutions, or convictions

Recommend dispositions that limit negative, and disproportionate, immigration consequences

Act to limit immigration enforcement in courthouses

Do not directly facilitate immigration enforcement actions by discussing cases with representatives of the Department of Homeland Security

Establish independent division to investigate allegations of corruption by city employees, including city elected officials

Press for state legislation to restore subpoena power to City Attorney’s office for consumer protection cases, a la AB814 (ca 2017)

Work with City Controller to issue subpoenas