#bryan freedman

Let's not forget Attorneys Alexandra Kazarian and Bryan Freedman,

VICTIMS' FAMILY MEMBERS' MOTION TO COMPEL COMPLIANCE WITH MARSY'S LAW. (pdf)

Members of Erik and Lyle Menendez’s family have taken the Los Angeles County District Attorney to court for “an affront to victims everywhere” by displaying bloody 1989 crime-scene photos of the dead body of the brothers’ father José Menendez during a hearing last week.

“A grotesque spectacle occurred last Friday in this Court,” declares a filing Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court from Bryan Freedman and other lawyers on behalf of relatives seeking the siblings’ release from prison after more than 30 years. “This Court should ensure such a mockery never occurs again.”

“The District Attorney has made a mockery of the Victim’s Bill of Rights, or Marsy’s Law, which provides victims with the constitutional right to be ‘treated with fairness and respect’ and to be ‘free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse’ throughout the criminal justice process, including post-conviction proceedings,” adds the document put in the court docket this morning against DA Nathan Hochman, his deputies and office.

To that, the more than 20 members of the Menendez family represented in today’s filing say the “scandalous behavior” showing those “horrific and gruesome photographs of the 1989 deaths of their relatives” was an entirely personal and intentional part of an antagonistic relationship with Hochman.

They also say showing those photos was against the law.

“It is patently obvious that the District Attorney treated the victims’ family members as second-class victims, due to a policy disagreement between District Attorney Hochman and the victims’ family members,” the six-page filing states. “The District Attorney represents all victims, not simply those that share the Office’s policy views. In the same token, Marsy’s Law provides constitutional rights to all crime victims.”

Among the fallout from the “lurid” photos being shown in court Friday, the brothers’ 85-year-old aunt and sister to José Menendez ended up in the ICU. Already fighting cancer, Terry Baralt collapsed in her L.A. hotel room Sunday; while upgraded from critical condition she remains hospitalized, according to today’s filing. Late Sunday, the DA’s office put out a statement both justifying and apologizing for showing the photos. However, the statement made no direct reference to Baralt or her condition. That omission stung the family, I’m told.

To that, after previously asking for Hochman and team to be removed from the case, the relatives are fast-tracking for an early-morning hearing Thursday on this latest turn in the Menendez saga. Hitting the law-and-order, new-ish DA where they hope it hurts, the family is seeking a court order to “admonish” Hochman and his office. They also want guarantees they’ll be given a heads up the next time such photos and other graphic material is exhibited.

In a packed week for the brothers, their supporters and opponents, any potential hearing later this week would come on the same day as the start of a long-delayed resentencing hearing where the brothers expected to be in attendance. If Judge Michael Jesic agrees the duo has shown true rehabilitation and meet the standard required, he could rescind their life-without-parole sentences. Pending a probe by the state parole board, which is already conducting a risk assessment of the brothers as ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of a clemency request, the Menendez brothers could theoretically be out within weeks.

After two individual trials in the 1990s and allegations of sexual abuse by José Menendez, no one debates whether Erik and Lyle Menendez blasted fatal holes in their father and mother Kitty with shotguns in the family’s Beverly Hills home 26 years ago. The role of that abuse and subsequent trauma has grown in recent decades, though it was a factor in the original trials. Amidst supposed new evidence, overall exemplary behavior from the brothers (they are now in the same facility near San Diego), Netflix and Ryan Murphy’s hit Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story and several documentaries, the case has been thrust back in the spotlight.

In that vein, Hochman’s resounding defeat of progressive incumbent George Gascón , who introduced a motion for resentencing late last year ahead of the election, set the stage for what has become a very public showdown. After weeks of consideration, Hochman last month gave a press conference to say the brothers “do not meet the standards for rehabilitation” and his office was withdrawing the resentencing motion for reconsideration. It was at Friday’s hearing where the vivid photos were displayed that Jesic rejected the DA’s move and ruled a formal resentencing hearing would go ahead this week.

The Los Angeles County DA’s office did not respond to request from Deadline for comment on Tuesday’s filing by the family. Outside of the motion itself, the family said today: “Life is not black and white. It is messy and painful and complicated. But believing in redemption doesn’t mean we’ve stopped being victims. It doesn’t mean we should be treated with contempt. We’re asking the court to recognize that our constitutional rights matter and to ensure that the District Attorney’s office follows the very letter of the law they are charged with to uphold.”

Quentin Tarantino Sued for an Upcoming Auction of Pulp Fiction NFTs

Quentin Tarantino, the acclaimed film director, is being sued by Miramax, a Hollywood film producer and distributing company, due to the auction of a series of NFTs related to “Pulp Fiction,” one of the director’s most popular films. The conflict lies in the interpretation that Miramax makes from the initial contract between the parts, arguing that the sale of NFTs does not constitute a…

Mariah Carey sues South American concert promoter, after she cancelled dates for non-payment

The 46-year-old singer canceled shows in Argentina and Chile because they didn’t pay her in full, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday.

According to The Hollywood Reporter the Hero hitmaker was set to perform on October 28 in Argentina and on October 30 in Chile, but by October 25 there was still an unpaid balance for both of the shows and Mariah canceled.