Lyle and Erik Menendez filed a motion to disqualify Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman from participating in their resentencing hearing, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, have served 35 years in prison for the 1989 murders of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez. After a 1993 mistrial, they were convicted in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Since then, they’ve fought for decades to be released from prison, claiming self-defense because they feared for their lives after suffering through years of physical and sexual abuse.
In October 2024, former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón moved to reduce the brothers’ sentence to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for parole. However, Gascón lost the November election to Nathan Hochman, who then withdrew his predecessor’s resentencing recommendation.
Months later, in February, California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested “Comprehensive Risk Assessments” reports as a step to reduce their sentences, according to Variety.
However, Judge Michael Jesic had not reviewed the reports before the April 17 resentencing hearing. The two-day hearing, scheduled for April 17 and 18, was put on hold again to allow Jesic to read the reports, according to USA Today.
The new hearing is scheduled for May 9 and will determine the admissibility of the reports.
On April 25, the Menendez brothers’ legal team filed a motion to disqualify Hochman from the upcoming May 9 hearing.
“The DA admits they have a conflict of interest and claims they built an ethical wall. But the only people walled off are the victims in this case who unanimously want the brothers released and home,” their attorney, Mark Geragos, said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“The record shows a conflict that renders it unlikely Erik and Lyle can receive a fair resentencing hearing, recusal is proper,” the filing states. Throughout the 160-page filing, their legal team identified conflicts of interest involving Hochman and the only family member to oppose resentencing, Kitty Menendez’s brother, Milton Andersen. Hochman later appointed Andersen’s attorney as his head of the Department of Victim Services.
However, the motion states that aside from Andersen, the family has “shared their consistent view that nearly 35 years in prison was enough and Erik and Lyle should indeed be resentenced.”
“Erik and Lyle Menendez are entitled to a fair resentencing process. Jose and Kitty Menendez’s family members – regardless of what position they take as to resentencing – are all entitled to a fair sentencing process,” the motion’s conclusion states.
“The public is entitled to a process that appears fair. Because the actions here raise ‘a reasonable possibility that the DA’s office may not exercise its discretionary function in an evenhanded manner’ and there is a genuine risk that Erik and Lyle will ‘be treated unfairly during some portion of the …proceedings’ recusal is required.”
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