Veteran prosecutor suing over alleged demotion seeks Gascón deposition | News

LOS ANGELES – Lawyers for lead trial prosecutor Robert Durst want a judge to order Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit alleging the plaintiff was demoted from a prestigious position for speaking out against Gascón's sentencing recommendation guidelines.

Assistant District Attorney John Lewin's legal team filed the court papers Tuesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Steve Cochran, arguing that the county's lead prosecutor delayed long enough to arrange a deposition date.

Veteran prosecutor alleges he was wrongly transferred from his high-level position in the major crimes division's cold case unit to a position handling daily cases before a courthouse judge of Inglewood, all because of his criticism of Gascón's sentencing guidelines implemented after Gascón. took office in December 2020.

Although Gascón's lawyers said in an email in late May that they were willing to discuss a date for their client's deposition, no definitive availability date has been offered despite ongoing requests. dating back more than a year, according to court documents from Lewin's attorneys.

“George Gascón should be subject to a deposition because of his direct personal factual information regarding the implementation of the special directives, Plaintiff's complaints regarding these illegal policies, and Gascón's specific role in the retaliatory transfer of Plaintiff , all of which are material to this action, excluding George Gascón and not available from any other source,” Lewin’s lawyers claim in their court filings.

The evidence supports the notion that Gascón had direct knowledge of Lewin's complaints, was aware of the plaintiff's fears about a retaliatory transfer, and was involved in the decision to relegate him to a deputy scheduling position, state officials said. besides Lewin's lawyers in their pleadings.

Lewin received the Ken Lamb Distinguished Achievement Award that year for his 27 years of service to the district attorney's office, but he refused the office's request to appear in a photo with Gascón because he feared it would be “interpreted as an endorsement of 'Gascón's illegal policies,'” Lewin's lawyers say in their court papers.

Durst, a New York real estate heir who was serving a life sentence without parole, died in January 2022 at age 78 of natural causes. Durst was convicted in September 2021 of first-degree murder for the December 2000 shooting of Susan Berman.

A hearing on Lewin's motion is scheduled for September 23. His lawsuit was filed in February 2023.