Although former L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón left office in December after his election defeat, he is still the subject of lawsuits by former subordinates who allege they were punished for objecting to his policy directives — with the latest suit being filed by a nearly four-decade member of the office.
Former Deputy D.A. Lance Wong alleges in his Los Angeles Superior Court retaliation lawsuit that his doctor put him on medical leave in January 2024 because his supervisors would not accommodate him for his medical issues.
“Because plaintiff could not return to work without seriously jeopardizing his health, he was forced to resign his position with the District Attorney’s Office…” according to the suit, which further states that Wong resigned last February without ever returning to work.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Hochman defeated Gascón in November, and a representative for his office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Tuesday naming the county as a defendant.
Wong had been a head deputy since 2005 and he supervised various branches and specialized units, the suit states. Up until his alleged retaliatory removal, he was in charge of the Long Beach office and assigned to a “dead-end position” supervising probationary prosecutors learning how to do preliminary hearings, the suit states.
Wong also was required to drive to a new location that required him to drive more miles daily than his doctor recommended due to the plaintiff’s health, the suit states.
Like many prosecutors before Wong who served under Gascón and filed similar lawsuits, Wong alleges he was targeted for objecting to Gascón’s orders regarding pre-trial releases and sentencing, including a blanket order banning the seeking of cash bail for any misdemeanor and a sentencing mandate that he and many of his colleagues believed violated Marsy’s Law, which protects crime victims from intimidation, harassment and abuse.
Wong also believed Gascón’s directives wanted prosecutors to circumvent the three-strikes law with a prepared script in court to read to the judge whether the lawyers believed it or not, according to the suit, which states that the plaintiff has suffered lost income and emotional distress since being forced to resign.