L.A. to Dismiss 60,000 Marijuana Convictions

IT’S ABOUT TIME –

Sept. 27, 2021 – About 20,000 of the convictions expected to be expunged under Gascón’s Monday order were for felony possession or cultivation of marijuana, said Jean Guccione, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County district attorney’s office. The remainder were misdemeanors filed in jurisdictions that do not have their own city attorney’s offices, she said. It was unclear how far back the case review went, but while in San Francisco, Gascón had sought to overturn cases dating to the mid-1970s. Felicia Carbajal, executive director of the Social Impact Center, a Los Angeles-based community center, said her organization first helped identify the discrepancy in Los Angeles County’s handling of case expungements, noting the potential problem with relying solely on California Department of Justice records to identify cases that would qualify for relief.

Carbajal said she contacted Lacey’s staff about the problem last year, but ultimately nothing was done. But when taking part in a panel discussion around cannabis enforcement that took place on April 20 this year, Carbajal said, she met former public defender Tiffiny Blacknell, who now serves as a special advisor to Gascón. Their conversation jump-started the process that led to Monday’s announcement, Carbajal said.