Lau v. County of Los Angeles

Case Number: 2:25-cv-4766

Court: U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Client: Maya Lau

Complaint Filed: May 27, 2025

Background: In 2017, the Los Angeles Times published an investigation by Maya Lau and two of her colleagues uncovering a list of hundreds of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies with histories of misconduct, including sexual assault, fabricating evidence, and using excessive force. Lau’s coverage of the list provided an example of the type of critical information about deputies that was not being handed over to prosecutors or defense counsel in cases in which the deputies would testify — an apparent violation of defendants’ constitutional rights. It also prompted new oversight of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s role in past prosecutions and helped inspire California legislation that brought greater transparency to police disciplinary records statewide.

In response to Lau’s reporting, the LASD launched an investigation into the journalist without any basis for believing that she had committed a crime. As the Los Angeles Times revealed in July 2024, the LASD ultimately spent at least three years investigating Lau — first, under Sheriff Jim McDonnell, and later, under Sheriff Alex Villanueva — and asked the state attorney general to prosecute her for conspiracy, theft of government property, unlawful access of a computer, burglary, and receiving stolen property. The attorney general declined to prosecute Lau, citing “insufficient evidence” of a crime.

On behalf of Lau, attorneys from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the law firms Loevy + Loevy and Schonbrun Seplow Harris Hoffman & Zeldes, LLP filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County alleging that the LASD’s unlawful investigation and referral for prosecution violated Lau’s rights under the First Amendment and the California Constitution. The complaint alleges that the investigation was the product of an unlawful conspiracy, and that it was conducted pursuant to an official policy or practice of pursuing retaliatory criminal charges against perceived opponents of the LASD. 

Quote: “LASD’s retaliation against Ms. Lau for her reporting on deputy misconduct was a gross misuse of public power to attempt to stifle freedom of the press,” Reporters Committee Staff Attorney Grayson Clary said in a press release. “Journalism is not a crime, and no reporter should fear prosecution for doing their job.” 

Related: In 2023, attorneys from the Reporters Committee and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP helped Josie Huang, a reporter for NPR member station LAist 89.3, reach a $700,000 settlement agreement with Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department related to the journalist’s violent and unlawful arrest while covering a protest in 2020.

Filings:

2025-05-27: Complaint