Hochman Uses Multiple CCP §170.6 Challenges To Bump Criminal Division Supervising Judge

Thursday, June 11, 2026

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Hochman Uses Multiple CCP §170.6 Challenges to Bump Criminal Division Supervising Judge

By a MetNews Staff Writer

YVETTE VERASTEGUI
Superior Court judge

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s office is filing peremptory challenges to disqualify Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Verastegui, the supervising judge of the Criminal Division and the only candidate to date for the position of assistant presiding judge for 2027 and 2028, in multiple criminal matters over allegations that she has repeatedly reduced charges or imposed light sentences over the protestations of prosecutors.

Motions to disqualify a jurist from hearing multiple cases over widespread concerns of fairness are generally filed under Code of Civil Procedure §170.6, which provides, in relevant part, that “[a] judge…shall not try a civil or criminal action…when it is established…that the judge…is prejudiced against a party or attorney” and that a party or attorney “may establish prejudice by…motion…supported by affidavit.”

The rare move by the District Attorney’s Office was prompted by Verastegui’s handling of several cases, including a high-profile animal-cruelty prosecution against Joeboury Coleman and Shayla Alcala. Charges were filed following an investigation triggered by social media posts depicting a puppy being tossed down the stairwell of a multi-floor building.

The matter relating to the Los Angeles County criminal justice system was brought to light by an article in the New York Post on Monday.

Animal Cruelty Case

Last year, after attorneys with Hochman’s office announced that they were ready to proceed to trial against the defendants, Verastegui accepted open pleas of no contest to the court. Coleman was sentenced to two years in state prison on each of the four charges, despite facing longer exposure due to multiple counts relating to a series of separate incidents, over the objection of Deputy District Attorney Michael Belcher.

As to Alcala, who faced two felony counts over her alleged failure to seek necessary veterinary care for a cat, Verastegui reduced the charges to misdemeanors and imposed one year of probation along with mandated counseling.

In 2024, the judge handled a case against Don Kung, who was accused of spray-painting multiple floors of the downtown Oceanwide Plaza towers, buildings that garnered national news coverage after images showing graffiti on nearly every floor circulated on social media.

Prosecutors alleged that Kung’s vandalism caused more than $70,000 in damage. After Kung rejected an offer from the District Attorney’s Office to plead to a felony, pay restitution, and complete remediation efforts, Verastegui indicated that she would reduce the charges to misdemeanors over the prosecutor’s objections.

Reduced Prison Sentence

The prosecutorial office has also taken issue with an instance where Verastegui purportedly dismissed a defendant’s prior strike convictions and resolved the case for a reduced prison sentence before the case had been assigned to a trial judge.

The supervising judge of the Criminal Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court has traditionally played a largely administrative role, such as assigning cases to courtrooms for trial, rather than resolving hotly-disputed matters, Hochman noted.

In an interview with the New York Post, he said:

“We are not going to let her unilaterally come up with resolutions that we believe completely undersell a case and do additional damage to victims.”

Verastegui earned her law degree from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law and worked for the Los Angeles County Alternate Public Defender’s Office before taking the bench in 2010. She has not responded to a request for comment.

Former Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley yesterday expressed surprise at Hochman’s decision, saying:

“Judge Verastegui is an excellent judicial officer. For a district attorney to file affidavits of prejudice in several cases against a judge is an extreme measure that should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances. It does not appear that any such conditions exist in this instance.

“Judicial officers have an important role with respect to ensuring justice is carried out in accordance with the law. A district attorney does not have a monopoly on that task, and our system needs appropriate checks and balances.”

He added:

“The real problem is the fact that Los Angeles has woefully inadequate jail space. The sentencing choices for judges are totally inadequate.”