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The deputy district attorneys and legal system personnel who spoke with The Signal on Tuesday said that while the “victims” portion was written out for all to see, the witnesses portion would remain unwritten, but understood by all. “We will not seek a body attachment for any victim or witness who fails to appear in court,” read the email. “Furthermore, DDAs are directed to immediately stop seeking body attachments for victims,” Directive 20-12 reads.īut while publicly stating the order only pertains to victims, several DDA’s contend that, behind closed doors, the order is far more expansive.įollowing a Microsoft Teams meeting with Gascón, held the same day as the issuance of the special directives, John Morris, then head deputy at the Van Nuys Courthouse, reached out to his fellow prosecutors to inform them that, among other things, there were more restrictions for them on body attachments than had been previously stated, according to an email obtained by The Signal. 7, deputy district attorneys were ordered to stop seeking the coercive court orders when it comes to crime victims.
#Los angeles county ercom subpoena series#
While compelling or forcing witnesses to testify has been a primary tool of prosecutors for years within Los Angeles County, the process was turned on its head last December when Gascón assumed his office and issued a number of special directives.Īmong that series of special directives issued by the county’s top prosecutor were orders for his staff to not pursue the death penalty prevent youth offenders from being tried as adults and almost entirely restrict the use of sentencing enhancements in cases. However, specifically within Special Directive 20-12, issued by Gascón on Dec. Without the ability to enforce subpoenas, the district attorney would lose their ability to prove their cases in court.” Or, as a judge put it more directly: “Reticent victims or witnesses will come to court often because they know a subpoena can be enforced, and a warrant for their arrest could (be issued), if they don’t come to court. “It’d be one thing to have a robbery in Beverly Hills … you’re going to have a lot more cooperation because (those) people generally live in very safe neighborhoods … But gang murders generally occur in gang neighborhoods where there’s a lot more intimidation.” “I used to do gang murders, and I can’t think of one case where the witnesses were cooperative,” said one source. There are a number of reasons a body attachment becomes necessary, from fear of retaliation by the defendant or their supporters out in public, wanting to avoid a day spent at court, or wishing to not make the long drive to a faraway courthouse - and there are a number of reasons people are resistant to testifying, sources said.
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“When we do have to detain somebody, they come to court, they testify, then they’re released,” said another deputy district attorney. “We don’t want to re-victimize somebody any more that’s already been victimized.”
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Simply telling an uncooperative witness that a body attachment is even being considered, according to sources, generally results in their ultimate appearance in court however, some instances require the actual detainment of the witness and/or victim for a variety of reasons.