HAHN TOUTS ABUSE PROSECUTIONS.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

After coming under criticism for his handling of O.J. Simpson's spousal abuse case, Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn held a news conference Thursday to defend his record of prosecuting domestic violence cases.

Flanked by victims of domestic violence, victim-advocates and shelter operators on the steps of City Hall, Hahn disputed criticism by challenger Ted Stein that his office has failed to vigorously prosecute spousal abusers, including Simpson.

``Violent abuse of women cannot be tolerated,'' Hahn said. ``From Day One, cracking down on violence against women has been a top priority for me, and our record in this area is second to none.''

Diane Miller, president of the Los Angeles Domestic Violence Task Force, said Hahn opened a special unit to handle domestic violence prosecutions and the office is now the largest of its kind in the country.

``He (Hahn) is personally responsible for supporting more than 30 of the most vital pieces of (state) legislation that we now have on the books, many of them precedent-setting throughout the country,'' Miller said.

Hahn's office has prosecuted domestic violence cases ``vigorously and sensitively,'' said Gail Pincus, director of the Domestic Abuse Center in Northridge.

Maria St. John, who described herself as a victim of abuse and now works with other victims, said Stein's criticism of Hahn over a 1989 case involving Simpson is ``despicable.''

``The one thing Jim has done so aggressively is to go after batterers,'' she said.

Stein had charged that Nicole Brown Simpson might be alive today if Hahn's office had asked in open court for jail time for O.J. Simpson during a domestic violence case in 1989.

Hahn said one of his attorneys did ask for jail time in the judge's chambers but the request was turned down. The city attorney said his office has a 94 percent conviction rate in all cases.

Hahn called Stein a ``Johnny come lately'' to the issue of domestic violence.

Stein, an Encino attorney and former county prosecutor, said he believes the Simpson case is not the only one in which an abuser was allowed to escape jail only to use violence again.

Stein said Hahn is the one who has come late to innovative programs for punishing spousal abusers.

The challenger produced records showing Hahn had claimed last year to have come up with a new theory for prosecuting wife-beaters, but the theory, that spousal abuse violates a law that prohibits causing mental suffering for children, has been in use for a decade in the San Diego City Attorney's Office.

``He's not an innovator,'' Stein said.