Los Angeles Deserves Better: A Review of District Attorney Hochman’s First Year in Office

Document Date: December 3, 2025

Angelenos deserve a district attorney who protects communities through policies rooted in safety, equity, and care. Yet L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s record reflects a hardline approach to prosecution.

Our latest report outlines five public policy issues L.A. County advocates and community members have tracked during D.A. Hochman’s first year in office that reveals a pattern of extreme and debunked approaches to crime, many that will increase mass incarceration.

The five sections of the report cover D.A. Hochman’s decisions to:

  • reinstate the death penalty in Los Angeles;
  • oppose the Racial Justice Act at the California Supreme Court;
  • revert to extreme charging practices, including reviving sentencing enhancements;
  • support Prop 36, despite Prop 36 driving up the LA County jail population during one of the deadliest years on record for LA County’s jails; and
  • undermine adoption of care-centered community safety solutions.

If D.A. Hochman is serious about public safety, he will stop fighting reform of a system proven to fail our communities and advocate for more of what is proven to keep us safe: supportive community services rooted in care.