L.A. County D.A. Says He Won’t Recuse Himself From Menendez Brothers Case

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says he will NOT recuse himself from the Erik and Lyle Menendez case … despite their attorney calling for Hochman to step aside.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Hochman says there’s no legal reason for him to recuse himself … and he blasts the defense for what he sees as a “drastic and desperate step” … claiming they are trying to sidestep the central issue here … resentencing, which Hochman opposes.

Erik and Lyle’s attorney, Mark Geragos, previously called for Hochman to recuse himself.

Hochman grew up in Beverly Hills and went to the same high school as the Menendez Bros … and the Menendez family and Geragos say Hochman has been retraumatizing the Menendez family … alleging he’s violating Marsy’s Law rights for victims and claiming his decision to show crime scene photos in an April court hearing was so upsetting it ended up putting an elderly relative in the hospital.

Bryan Freedman, the attorney for the Menendez family, blasted Hochman in a new statement to TMZ, telling us … “Rather than do his real job and take steps to stop the looting, smash and grabs, record number of burglaries and other rampant criminal behavior in Los Angeles, DA Hochman would rather book appearances on TV and social media to show that he thinks childhood sexual abuse has no impact on human behavior.”

Freedman adds … “Verbally abusing the family member victims is not an example of being tough on crime. This man is out of touch with reality. His position that if Lyle and Erik admit to purported lies made 35 years ago, that he would change his position is preposterous. It may get his face and name in the media but obviously that factor is not only wrong but has zero impact whatsoever on whether they are likely to commit a dangerous felony in the future.”

Erik and Lyle have a court hearing set for next Friday, where the judge will presumably consider the recusal motion and address the admissibility of a risk assessment report.

As we’ve told you, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the state’s parole board back in February to conduct a risk assessment of the brothers before he made any clemency decision.

Newsom says he plans to use the report as part of a June 13 hearing, in which Erik and Lyle are supposed to appear before the board for individual reviews. After the hearing, the Governor plans to then make his decision on whether to grant them clemency.

Erik and Lyle were convicted of murdering their parents with shotguns in their Beverly Hills home in 1989 and were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.