Editing Los Angeles County, California (section)

== Law, government, and politics ==
[[File:Los Angeles County Charter rev2016.pdf|thumb|Charter of the County of Los Angeles, with amendments through March 2002]]

=== Government ===
{{Main|Government of Los Angeles County}}

The [[Government of Los Angeles County]] is defined and authorized under the [[California Constitution]], [[California law]] and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles.<ref>California Government Code §&nbsp;23004</ref> Much of the [[Government of California]] is in practice the responsibility of local governments such as the Government of Los Angeles County.

The county's voters elect a governing five-member [[Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors]]. The small size of the board means each supervisor represents over 2{{nbsp}}million people. The board operates in a legislative, executive, and [[Quasi-judicial body|quasi-judicial]] capacity. As a legislative authority, it can pass ordinances for the unincorporated areas (ordinances that affect the whole county, like posting of restaurant ratings, must be ratified by the individual city). As an executive body, it can tell the county departments what to do, and how to do it. As a quasi-judicial body, the Board is the final venue of appeal in the local planning process, and holds public hearings on various agenda items.

As of 2020, the Board of Supervisors oversees a $35.5{{nbsp}}billion annual budget and over 112,000 employees.<ref>Sachi A. Hamai, [https://ceo.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1.-2020-21-Recommended-Budget-Transmittal-Letter.pdf Transmittal Letter, Fiscal 2020–21 Recommended County Budget] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522085245/https://ceo.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/1.-2020-21-Recommended-Budget-Transmittal-Letter.pdf |date=May 22, 2020 }}, April 28, 2020, 2.</ref> The county government is managed on a day-to-day basis by a chief executive officer and is organized into many departments, each of which is enormous in comparison to equivalent county-level (and even many state-level) departments anywhere else in the United States. Some of the larger or better-known departments include:

[[File:LA Superior Court, LA, CA, jjron 22.03.2012.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The Grand Avenue entrance of the [[Stanley Mosk]] Courthouse]]

* Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs – offers consumers in the county a variety of services including: consumer and real estate counseling, mediation, and small claims counseling investigates consumer complaints, real estate fraud and identity theft issues. The department also provides small business certifications and helps entrepreneurs navigate the process of opening a business.
* [[Los Angeles County Superior Court]] - The primary trial court for Los Angeles County, handling civil, criminal, family, and probate cases.

* Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services – administers foster care
* [[Los Angeles County Fire Department]] – provides [[firefighting]] and [[emergency medical services]] for the unincorporated parts and 58 cities of Los Angeles County, as well as for the city of [[La Habra]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=McKibben |first1=Dave |title=L.A. County to Absorb La Habra's Fire Unit |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2005/feb/09/local/me-lahabra9 |access-date=August 7, 2015 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=February 9, 2005 |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222113946/http://articles.latimes.com/2005/feb/09/local/me-lahabra9 |url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Orange County, California|Orange County]].
* [[Los Angeles County Department of Health Services]] – operates several county hospitals and a network of primary care clinics.
* [[Los Angeles County Department of Public Health]] – administers public health programs including STD programs, smoking cessation, and restaurant inspection. The cities of [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]] and [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] have their own autonomous Public Health departments assuming county functions, and county public health orders are not applicable in those cities.
* Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services – administers many federal and state welfare programs
* [[Los Angeles County Department of Public Works]] – operates countywide flood control system, constructs and maintains roads in unincorporated areas.
* [[Los Angeles County District Attorney]] – prosecutes criminal suspects.
* [[Los Angeles County Public Defender|Los Angeles County Office of the Public Defender]] – defends indigent people accused of criminal offenses.
* [[Los Angeles County Probation Department]]
* [[Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department]] – provides law enforcement services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 42 cities.

The [[Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], despite its name, is {{em|not}} a County department. Technically it is a state-mandated county transportation commission that also operates a large bus and rail system in the county.

=== Politics ===

{{PresHead|place=Los Angeles County, California|whig=yes|source1=<ref>{{cite web |first=David |last=Leip |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ |title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |publisher=Uselectionatlas.org |access-date=January 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709214827/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ |archive-date=July 9, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>|source2=<ref>{{cite web |author=Thompson and West |url=https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/thompsonwest_lacountyvote1849-1879.htm |title=Los Angeles County Election Results, 1849-1879: L.A. County Rejects Lincoln (Twice) & Chinese Immigration |publisher=SCVHistory.com |access-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-date=September 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930215447/https://scvhistory.com/scvhistory/thompsonwest_lacountyvote1849-1879.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP/Whig vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|1,189,862|2,417,109|122,118|California}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|1,145,530|3,028,885|109,530|California}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|769,743|2,464,364|200,201|California}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|885,333|2,216,903|78,831|California}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|956,425|2,295,853|65,970|California}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|1,076,225|1,907,736|39,319|California}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|871,930|1,710,505|112,719|California}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|746,544|1,430,629|233,841|California}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|799,607|1,446,529|507,267|California}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|1,239,716|1,372,352|32,603|California}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|1,424,113|1,158,912|29,889|California}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|1,224,533|979,830|235,822|California}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,174,926|1,221,893|62,258|California}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|1,549,717|1,189,977|90,676|California}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|1,266,480|1,223,251|168,251|California}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,161,067|1,568,300|1,551|California}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|1,302,661|1,323,818|8,020|California}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,260,206|1,007,887|7,331|California}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|1,278,407|971,408|24,725|California}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|804,232|812,690|112,160|California}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|666,441|886,252|8,871|California}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|574,266|822,718|18,285|California}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|357,401|757,351|15,663|California}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|373,738|554,476|41,380|California}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|513,526|209,945|7,830|California}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|299,675|33,554|124,228|California}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|178,117|55,661|23,992|California}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|135,554|114,070|18,297|California}}
{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|2,181|55,110|108,005|California}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|41,483|22,076|9,518|California}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|32,507|10,030|6,346|California}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|19,200|13,158|2,490|California}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|16,891|16,043|1,108|California}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|10,226|8,119|4,434|California}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|13,805|10,110|1,349|California}}
{{PresRow|1884|Republican|5,595|4,683|551|California}}
{{PresRow|1880|Republican|2,914|2,853|316|California}}
{{PresRow|1876|Democratic|3,042|3,616|0|California}}
{{PresRow|1872|Republican|1,312|1,228|27|California}}
{{PresRow|1868|Democratic|748|1,236|0|California}}
{{PresRow|1864|Democratic|555|744|0|California}}
{{PresRow|1860|Democratic|356|703|697|California}}
{{PresRow|1856|Democratic|521|721|135|California}}
{{PresFoot|1852|Democratic|497|574|0|California}}
{{Main|Politics of Los Angeles County}}

==== Overview ====

==== Voter registration ====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population and registered voters
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Total population (2020)
| colspan="2" | 10,014,009
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;Registered voters<ref name="CA-SS">California Secretary of State. [https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/report-registration/123day-gen-2024 July 5, 2024 – Report of Registration]. Retrieved September 7, 2024.</ref><ref name="PCT-RV" group=note>Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.</ref>
| 5,668,603
| 56.6%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Democratic<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 2,976,209
| 52.5%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Republican<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 1,025,622
| 18.1%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Democratic–Republican spread<ref name="CA-SS" />
| <span style="color:#00f;">'''+1,950,587'''</span>
| <span style="color:#00f;">'''+34.4%'''</span>
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[[American Independent Party|American Independent]]<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 181,301
| 3.2%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Green<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 26,298
| 0.5%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Libertarian<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 49,018
| 0.9%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Peace and Freedom<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 42,253
| 0.8%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Unknown<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 37,101
| 0.7%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Other<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 53,708
| 1.0%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;No party preference<ref name="CA-SS" />
| 1,277,111
| 22.5%
|}

In the [[United States House of Representatives]], Los Angeles County is split between 17 congressional districts.<ref>{{cite web |title=2021 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) Congressional Districts |website=California Senate Office of Demographics |url=https://sdmg.senate.ca.gov/sites/sdmg.senate.ca.gov/files/2021/2021_crc_cd_state_a_final.pdf |access-date=April 3, 2024 |archive-date=April 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403213639/https://sdmg.senate.ca.gov/sites/sdmg.senate.ca.gov/files/2021/2021_crc_cd_state_a_final.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> 
In the [[California State Senate]], Los Angeles County is split between 13 legislative districts.<ref>{{cite web |title=2021 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) Senate Districts |website=California Senate Office of Demographics |url=https://sdmg.senate.ca.gov/sites/sdmg.senate.ca.gov/files/2021/2021_crc_sd_state_a_final.pdf |access-date=April 3, 2024 |archive-date=May 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527082433/https://sdmg.senate.ca.gov/sites/sdmg.senate.ca.gov/files/2021/2021_crc_sd_state_a_final.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
In the [[California State Assembly]], Los Angeles County is split between 24 legislative districts.<ref>{{cite web |title=2021 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) Assembly Districts |website=California Senate Office of Demographics |url=https://sdmg.senate.ca.gov/sites/sdmg.senate.ca.gov/files/2021/2021_crc_ad_state_a_final.pdf |access-date=April 3, 2024}}</ref>

On November 4, 2008, Los Angeles County was almost evenly split over [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]], which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. The county voted for the amendment 50.04% with a margin of 2,385 votes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/sov_complete.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018225250/http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2008_general/sov_complete.pdf|title="Statement of Vote: 2008 General Election" |archivedate=October 18, 2012}}</ref>

=== Legal system ===
{{further|Los Angeles County Superior Court}}

The Los Angeles County Superior Court is the county's court of general jurisdiction, while the [[U.S. District Court for the Central District of California]] may hear cases where federal jurisdiction is present. Both are headquartered in a large cluster of government buildings in the city's Civic Center.

Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.

Unlike the largest city in the United States, [[New York City]], all of the city of Los Angeles and most of its important suburbs are located within a single county. As a result, both the county superior court and the federal district court are respectively the busiest courts of their type in the nation.<ref>''A look at your Superior Court'', Public Information Office, Los Angeles Superior Court</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/aboutcourt/history.htm |title=LA Court |work=lasuperiorcourt.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219135841/http://lasuperiorcourt.org/aboutcourt/history.htm |archive-date=February 19, 2009}}</ref>

Many celebrities have been seen in Los Angeles courts. In 2003, the television show ''Extra'' (based in nearby [[Glendale, California|Glendale]]) found itself running so many reports on the legal problems of local celebrities that it spun them off into a separate show, ''Celebrity Justice''.

State cases are appealed to the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District, which is also headquartered in the [[Civic Center, Los Angeles|Civic Center]], and then to the [[Supreme Court of California|California Supreme Court]], which is headquartered in [[San Francisco]] but also hears argument in Los Angeles (again, in the Civic Center). Federal cases are appealed to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]], which hears them at its branch building in [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]]. The court of last resort for federal cases is the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]