Two attorneys working for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office have filed a claim alleging they were both retaliated against by their superiors and demoted to junior positions. They claim that two weeks after submitting a resentencing memo recommending a release for Erik and Lyle Menendez, Nathan Hochman was elected to the office of L.A. District Attorney. According to them, harassment, and retaliation followed shortly after.
On Feb 3, Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford both filed notices that they intend to sue for discrimination and harassment, retaliation, Labor Code violations and emotional distress, among other theories. Theberge and Lunsford named L.A. District Attorney Nathan Hochman, the County of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office and Deputy District Attorney John Lewin in their complaints.
Under California law, plaintiffs must file a claim 45 days before a lawsuit when the defendant is a public entity. Theberge and Lunsford seek more than $250,000 in economic damages and over $5 million in non-economic damages.
Erik and Lyle Menendez both were sentenced in 1996 to life sentences without parole for the 1989 murders of their parents José and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez in Beverly Hills. Both are now in their 50s and have served more than 35 years in jail. After new evidence which corroborates that their father had been sexually abusing the brothers since childhood surfaced, former L.A. District Attorney George Gascón reviewed a habeas petition and recommended a resentencing via a memo last October.
Theberge and Lunsford were both authors of the memo. Theberge was in charge of L.A. County’s resentencing unit at this time. Lunsford was Assistant Head Deputy Post-Conviction and Litigation. Lunsford has now been moved to a calendaring clerk position in Norwalk. Theberge is back at the alternate public defender’s office, an office she held several years ago.
Justin Shegerian, one of the attorneys for Theberge and Lunsford, told the Courier, “They were applying the law to the Menendez brothers case, and they recommended the resentencing of them based on a variety of factors that the law provides.” He added that the incoming DA “retaliated against them for that. They harassed them for that, and they demoted them and sent them off to Siberia to positions where they had worked previously with far less experience as well as to non-supervisory positions in the bottom of the organizational chart.”
Hochman has not publicly stated whether his office will continue to support resentencing for the brothers. He criticized Gascón’s handling of the case during his campaign, calling the handling politically motivated. In a move many consider as a possible indication of his position, Hochman hired Kathy Cady to oversee the DA’s victims services bureau. Cady formerly represented one of the only Menendez relatives who have called for the brothers to remain in prison.
Deputy District Attorney John Lewin is also listed as a defendant in the tort claims. The claim states that Lewin defamed Theberge by making public statements that Theberge was incompetent and violated courtroom ethics. The claim also states that Lewin accused Theberge of violating her duty of candor to the court.
The claim alleges that even though Lewin made social media statements that defamed the two, Lewin was promoted. Lewin was also a vocal critic of Gascón. He too sued the office for political retaliation in Feb 2023 when Gascón was at the helm. Lewin had been transferred from the Major Crimes Division to the role of calendar attorney at the Inglewood Courthouse. Once Hochman entered the office, Lewin was transferred back to Major Crimes.
Pam Johnson, a spokesperson for the L.A. District Attorney’s Office, said via email, “Our office does not comment on litigation or personnel matters.”
A hearing for Erik and Lyle Menendez is planned for March 20 and 21.
