LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Los Angeles elected officials on Wednesday, Nov. 19, highlighted a new law that will strengthen protections for survivors and witnesses of crimes and ensure individuals can seek justice without fear of intimidation or retaliation.

During a news conference at City Hall, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo discussed Assembly Bill 535, also known as the Victim and Witness Protection Act.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in October, and it will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.

“A core function of any prosecutor’s job is public safety, and so we are proud that we got a public safety bill through the state Legislature,” Feldstein Soto said.

City and county attorneys prosecute cases referred to them by law enforcement partners. They also manage domestic violence cases that do not go beyond misdemeanors.

“Our prosecution of these cases has been made much harder prior to the passage of this bill because witness intimidation doesn’t just stop when charges are brought,” Feldstein Soto said. “It is difficult sometimes to get witnesses to come to the courtroom to get the ultimate conviction.”

Existing law makes it a crime to knowingly and maliciously prevent or dissuade, or attempt to prevent or dissuade, a witness or victim from causing a complaint, indictment, information or probation or parole violation to be sought and prosecuted, and assisting in the prosecution of crimes, according to the language of the bill.

The law clarifies that it is a crime to intimidate a witness or survivor, and can lead to a year in jail.

Schiavo introduced the bill, and it was co-sponsored by Feldstein Soto and Hochman.

“I spent two decades supporting people, protecting people in our community, and even before that, I myself was victim, and as a child, I testified against my abuser, and to this day, I still remember that chilling experience from that courtroom, and I cannot imagine, if I were harassed or intimidated, that I would have been able to go forward with it,” Schiavo said.

She emphasized that “brave witnesses” are a critical piece of keeping communities safe.

Hochman said the bill was necessary to address a California Supreme Court ruling in 2024 on the specific penal code related to witness and survivor intimidation.

“If a particular person didn’t intimidate the witness or the victim in the stage leading to the filing of the charge and also intimidate them during the prosecution of that charge, you couldn’t bring the charge,” Hochman said.

AB 535 fixed that loophole, ensuring that at any point before and after charges have been filed, and during the prosecution of those charges, intimidation is not permissible.

“Victims and witnesses deserve to be protected,” Hochman said. “[They] will absolutely be protected, and now we have the statue to do it.”