By Jeremy Loudenback, The Imprint, January 24, 2021
Newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is moving quickly to change how youth are prosecuted and held accountable for crimes – hiring a public defender to overhaul long-standing juvenile justice policies, ending the practice of trying children in adult court and halting the prosecution of truancy cases.
Among other sweeping changes to how adults are prosecuted, he has said his office will not file charges against foster youth with behavioral issues or minors who commit most misdemeanors. Kids will not be locked up for probation violations and some felonies could soon be handled through a restorative youth justice process, rather than a lock-’em-up approach, according to new guidelines.
Yet since his decisive defeat of incumbent District Attorney Jackie Lacey in November, Gascón has faced aggressive opposition from prosecutors within his office and throughout the state, and from some crime victims.
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