LADDA 2024 City Council & Judicial Seats Candidate Endorsement List | |
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Nathan Hochman Endorsed by Association of Deputy District Attorneys
City of West Hollywood, City Council
George Nickle
City of Los Angeles, District 4
Ethan Weaver
Judicial Seat No. 39
Jacob Lee
Steve Napolitano
Judicial Seat No. 48
Renee Rose
Judicial Seat No. 93
Victor Avila (WON)
Judicial Seat No. 97
Sam Abourched
Sharon Ransom
Judicial Seat No. 115
Keith Koyano
Christmas Brookens
Judicial Seat No. 130
Leslie Gutierrez
Judicial Seat No. 135
Georgia Huerta
Steven Yee Mac
Judicial Seat No. 137
Tracey Blount
LA ADDA
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Courts, Rulings & Lawsuits | |
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LA County cities asks state Supreme Court to take up zero-bail challenge
Attorneys for 22 cities have filed a petition asking the California Supreme Court to review the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s implementation of a zero-bail policy last year that eliminated cash bail for all but the most serious of crimes. The Petition for Review, filed Sept. 22, alleges zero-bail fails to uphold the Superior Court’s “mandatory constitutional and statutory duties to give paramount importance to victim and public safety in adopting such bail schedules” and is based on “faulty, insufficient data,” according to the filing.
Pasadena Star News
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Judge rules LA broke state law by blocking affordable housing in the San Fernando Valley
The city of Los Angeles violated state law when it blocked the approval of a seven-story affordable apartment building in the San Fernando Valley, according to a ruling on Thursday from a county judge. The case has pitted housing advocates seeking faster approvals across the city against local officials who want to keep low-income apartments away from areas reserved for single-family homes.
LAist
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California attorney general sues hospital over refusal to perform abortion
Anna Nusslock was told that if she drove to another hospital for an abortion, she’d hemorrhage and die. The hospital she was at, Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka, wouldn’t perform the life-saving procedure on Nusslock because it detected a heartbeat. As Nusslock wasn’t deemed to be sufficiently at risk, the hospital denied her an abortion.
Courthouse News Service
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Reversal clears LAPD officer faulted for firing two extra bullets in fatal 2020 shooting
Los Angeles police officer Toni McBride, a gun rights influencer on social media and daughter of a high-ranking police union official, has been cleared of wrongdoing in a fatal shooting where she was previously faulted for continuing to fire bullets into a man who’d fallen to the ground. McBride appealed an earlier finding by the five-member Police Commission - which rules on all police shootings and other serious uses of force - that found her first four shots in the 2020 incident were justified, but the fifth and sixth rounds were not.
Los Angeles Times
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Church is not due fees for successful contempt challenge
A church is not entitled to litigation costs under the private attorney general statute, Code of Civil Procedure §1021.5, based on its success in obtaining annulment of contempt orders relating to its non-compliance with pandemic-related health orders, the Sixth District Court of Appeal has declared. The institution vindicated its own interests rather than benefitting the public, Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian said in an unpublished opinion filed Thursday and posted yesterday.
Metropolitan News-Enterprise
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Ninth Circuit allows crypto investor to pursue claim against AT&T over $24 million hack
A Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel says a well-known cryptocurrency investor can pursue one of his claims against AT&T over the hack of his mobile phone in 2018 by a teenager who stole $24 million. The appellate panel on Monday upheld the dismissal of most of Michael Terpin's fraud and negligence claims as well as the summary judgment a trial judge in Los Angeles had issued in favor of AT&T except for one related to the Federal Communications Act.
Courthouse News Service
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Fireworks business can’t dodge claims over gender-reveal smoke bomb that started wildfire
The distributor and the supplier of the two gender-reveal smoke bombs that started the El Dorado wildfire in Southern California four years ago must face a lawsuit by federal prosecutors that seeks to hold them liable for the $41 million in damages from the fire. U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong on Friday denied Wholesale Fireworks' motion to dismiss the Justice Department's claims for negligence, for violations of California's Health and Safety Code, and for trespass by fire.
Courthouse News Service
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Michele Hanisee on KFI discussing the release of Shanice Dyer (Audio)
Michele Hanisee on KFI discussing the release of Shanice Dyer, once charged with two brutal murders and now accused of yet another killing, is the latest and most painful chapter in Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s tenure. A tenure marked by the betrayal of the public trust, the abandonment of victims, and a total disregard for accountability and justice.
LA ADDA
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Gascón gave teen killer second chance - now she's charged again
The crime Shanice Amanda Dyer committed as a 17-year-old was as horrific as it was seemingly random. She was a documented member of a Crips street gang faction in South L.A., according to appellate records from the case, and she wanted to help retaliate for killings by a rival group in August 2019.
Los Angeles Times
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17-year-old previously tried as a minor for double murder now linked to another killing after release
Nearly five years ago, Alfredo Carrera and his friend, José Flores Velázquez, were murdered in South Los Angeles simply for standing in a gang's territory. "It was devastating, honestly," says Cynthia Carrera, Alfredo's sister. Neither man was gang-affiliated. Alfredo was about to become a father, and Jose, a student at UCI, had just accepted a job with NASA.
Fox11
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White supremacist gang members in San Fernando Valley face federal charges
Nearly 70 people who belong to or are associated with a white supremacist gang in the San Fernando Valley were indicted on federal charges, authorities announced Wednesday, saying the multi-agency operation was Los Angeles’ largest ever takedown of an extremist group. The alleged criminal organization trafficked weapons and drugs, including fentanyl, while committing fraud and financial crimes for years, according to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.
NBC4
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LA County prosecutors charge man who allegedly hijacked a Metro bus and killed a passenger
The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office announced charges against the man who allegedly killed a passenger while hijacking a Metro bus last week. District Attorney George Gascón charged Lamont Campbell, 51, with 12 felonies in addition to an enhancement of using a handgun during a crime. The charges include murder, carjacking, assault, attempted murder and four counts of kidnapping.
KCAL News
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Ex-LASD deputy charged with sexually assaulting, supplying teen with meth
A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl and supplying her with methamphetamine. According to a release from L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón’s office, retired deputy Benny Vicente Caluya Jr. and a second man, 68-year-old Clifford Leimana Abihai, allegedly picked up the girl as she was walking alone in Lancaster between Aug. 27 and 28 and gave her meth.
KTLA
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L.A. sheriff's deputy pleads not guilty to using excessive force
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputy pleaded not guilty Friday to allegedly using excessive force when he assaulted and pepper-sprayed a woman during a shoplifting investigation outside a WinCo Foods in Lancaster last year. Trevor James Kirk, 31, of Santa Clarita is charged in a single-count federal indictment with deprivation of rights under color of law for the force used in June 2023, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
KNX News
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Prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump election case, accuse him of having ‘resorted to crimes’
Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and “resorted to crimes” in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a court filing unsealed Wednesday that offers new evidence from the landmark criminal case against the former president.
AP
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Menendez brothers case under review for possible resentencing amid new evidence, LA County DA says
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said the Menéndez murder case is being reviewed by his office, naming two new factors that prosecutors are looking at ahead of a court hearing next month. Gascón said in a Thursday news conference that there could be potential for resentencing or possibly even a new trial. A hearing is set for Nov. 26.
KCAL News
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Gascon’s experiment has failed: Nathan Hochman deserves your vote
George Gascon’s tenure has been a tragedy for Los Angeles, leaving in its wake broken families, devastated communities, and victims abandoned by the very system sworn to protect them. His disastrous “reforms” have not just failed - they have torn apart the fabric of our society, making it unsafe for everyone. For the countless victims whose cases have been ignored, the heartbreak is all too real.
California Globe
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L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley on George Gascon's disastrous reign (Video)
Good Kid Productions
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ABC7 hosts forum for Los Angeles County DA candidates Gascón and Hochman
The candidates for Los Angeles County District Attorney - incumbent George Gascón and challenger Nathan Hochman - met Sunday for a candidate forum hosted by ABC7. Anchor Marc Brown moderated the discussion as they addressed issues related to our criminal justice system and who is best suited to run the country's biggest DA office.
ABC7
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Nathan Hochman surpasses 200 endorsements in his bid to become Los Angeles County’s next District Attorney
Nathan Hochman, the former federal prosecutor running as the independent candidate for Los Angeles County District Attorney, announced today that he has secured more than 200 endorsements from the bipartisan coalition he has built to unseat D.A. George Gascon. Hochman has brought together first responders, crime victims, elected state and local officials, community, business and labor leaders and other voters who support his comprehensive Blueprint for Justice for a safer Los Angeles County.
Nathan Hochman Press Release
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L.A. County District Attorney: Who’s running in the Nov. 5 election and why it matters
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is the largest local prosecutorial office in the U.S., and its influence is felt far beyond L.A. County borders. The district attorney’s decisions about which cases to pursue - or not pursue - are hotly debated as a reflection of what we as a society believe justice should look like.
LAist
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LAPD Ofc. Toni McBride finally cleared in 4-year-old lethal shooting incident
I have a sweet follow up for you. Well, perhaps, it’s somewhat bitter-sweet because this outstanding cop shouldn’t have been put through this ordeal in the first place. LAPD Ofc. Toni McBride was involved in an officer-involved shooting (OIS) in April 2020. The incident resulted in the death of an armed suspect who’d charged at her with a knife. The LAPD Use of Force Review Board and the Chief of Police had correctly determined that all six shots she fired were within department policy.
Law Officer
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State attorney general wants L.A. to redraw council districts, document says
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has begun pressing Los Angeles political leaders to sign a legal agreement that would force them to draw new boundaries for the city’s 15 council districts - a dramatic step that could set off shock waves at City Hall. The draft legal document prepared by Bonta’s office, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, would require the city to finalize new council district maps in time for the 2026 primary election.
Los Angeles Times
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DraftKings case shows limits of California noncompete ban reach
California’s power to void worker noncompetes signed in other states isn’t as sweeping as some employers feared after a Boston federal appeals court upheld a disputed contract between DraftKings and a former executive. Despite the state’s strongly worded prohibitions on noncompete contracts, California policy didn’t override the law in Massachusetts, which was the chosen venue for legal disputes in the DraftKings Inc. contract, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided Sept 27.
Bloomberg Law
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Endorsement: Yes on Prop. 36: Time to free the detergent
The coming landslide win for Proposition 36 will be a triumph for truth over spin. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board has long supported criminal justice reform. But in real time, we saw the obvious flaws of Proposition 47 - the November 2014 measure that Proposition 36 is meant to fix. It changed many “nonviolent” felonies into misdemeanors in a ham-handed way that incentivized certain crimes.
San Diego Union-Tribune
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Ester Lim lands job with LA County District Attorney George Gascon
Esther Lim has a new job - she’s now a “special assistant” to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon. Lim is not an attorney. What she is a “social justice warrior” par excellence. And why could Lim’s name be familiar? Because she has been at the center of some of the most awful “criminal justice” movements in Los Angeles and the state for the past decade. Again, Lim is not a lawyer - she has a Masters in Social Work (MSW).
California Globe
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Top Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann fails to dismiss Trump WH lawyer’s defamation suit over tweet claiming he ‘coached’ star Jan. 6 witness to ‘lie’
A federal judge has refused to throw out a former Trump administration White House lawyer’s defamation case against former Mueller probe prosecutor and MSNBC pundit Andrew Weissmann after closely analyzing the “coached her to lie” tweet that gave rise to the lawsuit.
Law & Crime
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ACLU goes to bat for non-violent felon gun rights
The American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU) has a long track record of supporting various gun control laws despite its traditionally oppositional stance to government restrictions on constitutional rights. However, the group has now found at least one gun law it thinks violates the Second Amendment. On Tuesday, the ACLU and several of its state chapters filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in United States v. Duarte.
The Reload
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IRS fails to get rid of Hunter Biden lawsuit over leaked tax returns
Hunter Biden’s lawsuit over the public disclosure of his tax return information will move forward after a federal judge finds that the IRS might be liable for the actions of two whistleblowers’ lawyers. As Law&Crime previously reported, Biden sued the IRS in September 2023, alleging that two agents, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, “completely disregarded their confidentiality obligations” and engaged in a “campaign to publicly smear” Biden through “unauthorized” disclosures of tax return information to media outlets, resulting in an “assault” on his privacy rights.
Law & Crime
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass names former sheriff Jim McDonnell as new LAPD chief
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has named former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell the new chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Bass and McDonnell both named addressing public safety concerns in LA and preparing for the city's hosting of the Olympic Games in 2028 as some of their major goals as the former sheriff takes the helm. He said he's hoping to "strengthen public trust" in Los Angeles and to ensure the LAPD's officers engage in "respectful and constitutional policing practices in all that we do."
KCAL News
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LASD and LAPD will use real time crime centers to give officers instant access to information, helping them stop crimes in progress and enhance public safety
The two largest law enforcement agencies in Los Angeles County are following a trend seen across the country - setting up rooms from which authorities can use technology to rush relevant information to police officers or deputies as they respond to a scene. The LA Sheriff’s Department opened its first Real-Time Watch Center on Friday morning, Sept. 27th at the Lost Hills station in Agoura Hills.
Whittier Daily News
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City Controller: 'LA is going broke' after spending half of reserves this year
City of Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia warned residents “LA is going broke,” noting the city has spent half its reserves in the past year. In April, the city faced a $476 million deficit, leading to major cuts to Mayor Karen Bass’s signature homeless-in-hotels “Inside Safe” program. However, concerns with rising crime also led to an increase in the police budget, a funding expansion Meija has strongly opposed.
The Center Square
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Judge mulling Antelope Valley placement for 'Pillowcase Rapist' amid opposition of LA county leaders
A judge said Tuesday he would take under submission a proposal to release a sexually violent serial predator to the Antelope Valley, despite the opposition of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón and county Supervisor Kathryn Barger, among others. Superior Court Judge Robert Harrison - who said he had received more than 600 pages of comments - noted at the start of Tuesday's hearing that the issue was not about whether Christopher Hubbart should be released but where he should be placed, noting that a judge in Santa Clara County had already ordered the 74-year-old man's release.
City News Service
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Man killed in LA Metro bus hijacking was going home from work at Dodger Stadium
The mother and family of the man murdered during the hijacking of an LA Metro bus told NBC4’s I-Team they’re devastated by his death and want to make sure no one else using public transit becomes the victim of violence. "I just want justice for my boy,” said Teresa Flores, the mother of 48-year-old Anthony Rivera, who died early Wednesday after he was shot during the bus takeover, pursuit, and standoff.
NBC4
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Parents turn their children in after seeing them in video of mob robbery at 7-Eleven store (Video)
Jeff Nguyen speaks with Los Angeles Police Department officers who say that several teenagers were turned in by their own parents recently after they were spotted in footage from a mob robbery at a local 7-Eleven store.
CBS News
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DMV knowledge test no longer required for drivers 70 and older
The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced on Monday that it’s no longer requiring most drivers 70 years or older to take a written knowledge test when renewing their licenses. All drivers have been required to take the test once their license expires after turning 70, which has been a policy but not a law, according to DMV Director Steve Gordon.
Fox5 San Diego
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Five Jewish college students report being assaulted in the last month, as Oct. 7 anniversary approaches
University of Pittsburgh students Asher Goodwin and Ilan Gordon were walking to the first Shabbat service of the school year on Aug. 30 wearing yarmulkes. As they made their way to the campus Hillel building, they said, an older man wearing a keffiyeh approached them from behind and started to beat them with a large glass bottle. “He grabbed my Star of David necklace that I was wearing and ripped it off,” Goodwin told NBC News.
NBC News
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American Eagle Outfitters sues Amazon for infringing ‘Aerie’ trademarks
American Eagle Outfitters sued Amazon.com on Wednesday, accusing it of intentionally infringing the clothing and accessories retailer’s “Aerie” and “Offline by Aerie” trademarks by directing customers to knock-off merchandise. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, American Eagle said it rejected Amazon’s request for the rights to sell Aerie products on its platform.
Reuters
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Inmate imprisoned for murder is beaten and killed by other inmates at California prison
A convicted murderer was killed this week in an assault by other inmates at a Southern California prison, authorities said. Staff at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County witnessed the beating death of Alberto Martinez, 46, in the prison yard on Thursday, authorities said. Inmate Tyler A. Lua struck him, knocked him to the ground and continued to hit him, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release.
Los Angeles Times
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A scammer tried to seize Graceland. Is this $137.5 million L.A. mansion next?
Eric Schmidt, the former Google chief executive, has his eye on one of the most storied private estates in Los Angeles: 120-room Spelling Manor, which is on the market for $137.5 million. There’s just one problem: The owner can’t legally sell it. Spelling Manor has been targeted by scammers who fraudulently file deeds on luxury properties, according to the home’s owner, 594 Mapleton LLC.
Realtor.com
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Courthouse News wins public access case in Idaho
In the national war of litigation to hang on to the tradition of open courts, this news service won a key victory Monday in the Northwest where a federal judge handed down a broad ruling that enjoined Idaho’s top court official from withholding public documents. Since her courts moved to electronic filing, the chief court administrator in Idaho, Sarah Omundson, has been withholding new court pleadings. She holds them back for a day or a few days and turns them into old news.
Courthouse News Service
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Convictions/Pleas/Sentences | |
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Man sentenced to 35 years in prison for attempting to murder two Jewish men leaving L.A. synagogues last year
A man who last year shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left religious services in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles was sentenced today to 420 months in federal prison. Jaime Tran, 30, formerly of Riverside, was sentenced by United States District Judge George H. Wu, who set a restitution hearing for December 2, 2024.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release
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Man gets life in prison without parole for killing UCLA student inside Hancock Park furniture store
A transient man convicted of murdering a UCLA graduate student - who was stabbed 46 times inside a Hancock Park furniture store in an attack captured in a chilling audio recording - was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a judge found that he was sane at the time of the crime. Shawn Laval Smith, 34, was convicted Sept. 10 of first-degree murder for the Jan. 13, 2022, killing of Brianna Kupfer, 24.
City News Service
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Parole rescinded for former Los Angeles police detective convicted of killing her ex-boyfriend’s wife in 1986
A chance for parole was rescinded Wednesday for a former Los Angeles police detective serving a sentence of 27 years to life in the cold-case killing of her ex-boyfriend’s wife in 1986. Stephanie Lazarus was convicted in 2012 of killing Sherri Rasmussen, a 29-year-old nurse who was bludgeoned and shot to death in the condo she shared with her husband of three months, John Ruetten. She wasn't arrested until 2009.
AP
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Angelina Jolie drops FBI lawsuit after 2-year battle against agency over infamous 2016 Brad Pitt plane fight
Angelina Jolie ended her legal battle on Thursday against the Department of Justice after filing a petition for more information regarding the agency's investigation into alleged assaults that occurred between Jolie and ex-husband Brad Pitt during a 2016 cross-Atlantic flight. Jolie, 49, filed to dismiss the action with prejudice on Sept. 25 "with each party to bear its own fees and costs," according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Fox News
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Judge reject’s Trump’s bid for a new trial in $83.3 million E. Jean Carroll defamation case
A federal judge in New York rejected Donald Trump’s request for a new trial on Thursday after a jury awarded $83.3 million in damages to a longtime magazine columnist who sued the former president for defamation for calling her claim that he had sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store a lie. The judge rejected the former president’s claims that the compensatory and punitive damages awarded to writer E. Jean Carroll in January were excessive.
AP
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Netflix fails to get Baby Reindeer lawsuit dropped
Netflix has failed in its attempt to persuade a judge to throw out a defamation lawsuit brought by the woman who inspired the stalker character in hit series Baby Reindeer. Fiona Harvey claims the streaming giant told "brutal lies" about her to more than 50 million viewers around the world. The show, created by Richard Gadd, is billed as "a true story", but certain key events, like the conviction for stalking, did not happen in real life, the judge concluded.
BBC
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Mariners don’t play Macklemore song after rapper’s controversial remarks
The Mariners sparked a mild uproar among local baseball fans in April 2022 when they replaced “Louie Louie,” their longtime seventh-inning stretch song, with Macklemore’s hit “Can’t Hold Us.” On Friday night, in their first home game since the Seattle rapper’s controversial comments at the Palestine Will Live Forever benefit concert, the Mariners did not play Macklemore’s hit song.
Seattle Times
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Onetime teen killer who got kid gloves sentence for double murder charged in new slaying
A Los Angeles gang member who served less than four years in prison after being convicted of a double murder as a teen is now back in custody and charged in a new slaying. Shanice Dyer, a member of the East Coast Crips, was treated with kid gloves after prosecutors opted to try her as a juvenile in the 2019 killing of two innocent men because she was only 17 at the time, Fox affiliate KTTV-TV News reported.
New York Post
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Justice Department seizes web domains linked to Russian secret service
The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that it has seized 41 internet domains purportedly used by the Russian secret service to target current and former employees of the Defense Department, State Department and U.S. intelligence community. The domain names were used, or intended to be used, by the Callisto Group, a unit of the FSB, Russia's Federal Security Service, to access the government employees' computers and email accounts and steal valuable information and sensitive U.S. intelligence, an unidentified FBI agent said in a mostly redacted affidavit in support of the seizure warrant unsealed Thursday.
Courthouse News Service
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Los Angeles DA is slammed after female gang member who only spent four years in prison for double murder is charged with another killing just months after release
A female gang member spent less than four years incarcerated for a double murder due to Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón’s policies. She has now been charged with another killing just months after her release. In 2019, East Coast Crips member Shanice Dyer shot dead expectant father Alfredo Carrera and his rocket scientist friend Jose Flores, who had just got a job at NASA.
Daily Mail
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