Incoming DA Hochman may ask for more time to review Menendez case but says he "wouldn't engage in delay"

Nathan Hochman, Los Angeles County's incoming district attorney, said he may ask the court for more time to review the Menendez brothers' case ahead of a resentencing hearing next month.

Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have spent more than 30 years in prison for the 1989 first-degree murder of their parents, filed a habeas corpus petition last year requesting a review of potential new evidence, which could result in an early release if their murder convictions are vacated. Last month, District Attorney George Gascón also recommended resentencing for the brothers.

In a third path toward a potential early release, the brothers have requested clemency from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, which Gascón has publicly supported, writing letters to Newsom citing their record behind bars and what he described as "credible" allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father.  

Hochman, who unseated Gascón in a closely watched race this week, will take office on Dec. 2. 

In an interview, Hochman said if the case is not resolved by a Nov. 25 habeas petition hearing — when a judge will hear a motion requesting to vacate the first-degree murder convictions — he will review the case to determine whether or not to recommend resentencing.

A resentencing court date has been set for Dec. 11, nine days after he will take office. 

"As far as the timing goes, if we do need more time to formulate a thorough position on this issue, then I would ask the court, most likely, for additional time," Hochman said. "And I wouldn't engage in delay for delay's sake because this case is too important to the Menendez brothers. It's too important to the victims' family members. It's too important to the public to delay more than necessary to do the review that people should expect from a district attorney."

Such an analysis of the case would involve reviewing thousands of pages of prison files and transcripts of the months-long trials as well as speaking with law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsel and victims' family members, Hochman said.

"Whatever position I ultimately end up taking, people should expect that I spent a long time thinking about it, analyzing the evidence," Hochman said. "But my 34 years of criminal justice experience — involving hundreds of cases as a prosecutor and a defense attorney — allow me to work quickly and expeditiously in conducting this type of thorough review because I've done it in many, many cases before."

Hochman declined to say whether he would weigh certain factors of the case more strongly than others, saying he would look at the totality of the circumstances.

In May 2023, the brothers' defense attorneys filed a habeas petition requesting a review of potential new evidence, including a letter that Erik Menendez allegedly wrote to a cousin apparently citing allegations of abuse by his father as well as a sworn declaration by Roy Rosselló, former member of the boy band Menudo, alleging he was raped by Jose Menendez, who was an executive at a record company that signed the band in the 1980s.

In seeking a vacating of the murder convictions with the habeas petition, Cliff Gardner, one of the brothers' appellate attorneys, has said a lesser charge of manslaughter would be appropriate, which would have resulted in a much shorter sentence.

Meanwhile, clemency can only be granted by the state's governor while resentencing ultimately lies in the hands of a judge, following the recommendation by a prosecutor.

Gascón has said he recommended resentencing for more than 300 people through the Resentencing Unit he established in April 2021 — a department Hochman said he plans to continue running once in office. 

"My plans would be to certainly continue the Resentencing Unit," Hochman said. "Once I get into office, I'll be better able to understand all the aspects of it and whether or not any changes are required, whether or not it needs to be scaled up more to do more resentencings. But we will be looking at, again, the facts and the law of each of the cases that come down."