Menendez brothers resentencing hearing set for next week in Los Angeles

Erik and Lyle Menendez's bid for freedom after spending decades in prison for the murder of their parents will go forward after a judge set their resentencing hearing for Tuesday.

The decision comes after the brothers' appellate attorneys withdrew a recusal motion attempting to have the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office removed from the case. LA County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic was expected to consider the recusal motion in his Van Nuys courtroom on Friday before attorney Mark Geragos pulled the request. 

Erik and Lyle Menendez are currently serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 1989 killings of their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home. The brothers have claimed they acted in self-defense, alleging that they suffered years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents.

Geragos filed the recusal motion against the office of District Attorney Nathan Hochman last month, arguing in court documents that, absent the court granting the request, "a conflict of interest would render it likely that the defendants will receive neither a fair hearing nor fair treatment through all related proceedings."  

Read more: Menendez brothers' family blames LA County DA Hochman after their aunt is hospitalized

In a court filing opposing the recusal motion, the district attorney's office said that "the entire defense argument over recusal boils down to the defense not being happy with the current District Attorney's position on resentencing." 

"While this desperate argument may work in a press interview, it fails in a court of law based on an adversarial system of justice," the district attorney's office said in its opposition.

Geragos told the court on Friday that he received a report about Hochman alleging the district attorney had spent "hundreds of thousands" of dollars on "anti-Menendez social media campaigns." Geragos also alleged that, when Hochman was in private practice, he represented Jose Menendez's business partner in a tax case. 

Hochman said in court Friday that the state parole board's comprehensive risk assessment on Erik and Lyle Menendez, which was ordered in February by Gov. Gavin Newsom in connection with the brothers' request for clemency, contains "new information" that would provide the legal grounds to withdraw former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón's 2024 resentencing motion. Gascón recommended that the brothers be resentenced and also sent letters to the governor in support of clemency.

The board, Hochman said, "determined that each of the Menendez brothers constituted a moderate risk of violence, which was higher than the prior determinations of low risk of violence." He added that the board's risk assessment cited actions by the brothers that formed the basis for its conclusions, including a January incident in which Erik Menendez was allegedly found with a cell phone that was illegally brought into prison. 

Geragos argued Friday that the information from the risk assessment should not be allowed in the proceedings, saying the parole board does not allow psychologists to testify in hearings, including resentencing hearings. 

After the hearing, Geragos told reporters that he has the "upmost faith" that Jesic will rule in favor of the Menendez brothers and resentence them. 

"Hopefully, they will then go back to where they belong with their family," Geragos said.