Ellis George LLP achieved a significant victory in the California Court of Appeal on behalf of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County (ADDA) in an action challenging several of District Attorney George Gascón’s prosecutorial directives.
In February 2021, Ellis George secured a preliminary injunction from a California trial court that enjoined DA Gascón from implementing several unlawful prosecutorial directives, including a policy that prohibited LA County prosecutors from pleading prior strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law. DA Gascón appealed from the preliminary injunction. In a published opinion, California’s Second District Court of Appeal affirmed critical portions of the preliminary injunction, including DA Gascón’s mandatory obligation to plead prior strikes under the Three Strikes Law. The Court held that DA Gascón “is an elected official who must comply with the law, not a sovereign with absolute, unreviewable discretion,” and that he does not have the authority to ignore a statutory directive to plead prior strikes. The full opinion can be viewed here.
The Ellis George team that secured this victory includes Partners Eric George, Thomas P. O’Brien, Of Counsel and former U.S. Ambassador Christopher Landau, and Partner David Carroll. Ambassador Landau, who argued the case, also appeared on Fox News to discuss this important victory, which can be viewed here.
