New L.A. D.A. Nathan Hochman Says Menendez Brothers Case Is High Priority | TMZ Live - video Dailymotion

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Incoming Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says one of his first orders of business is tackling Erik and Lyle Melendez's bid for freedom ... and the clock's ticking.

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00:00Well, we had said that the Menendez brothers would be watching the election results very closely

00:04because the election of a new DA in Los Angeles County could mean a lot to their case

00:11if and when they get out of prison.

00:13It seemed they were rooting for the DA George Gascón because he is fully in support of them getting out

00:20and he has said as much. He's advocated for clemency from the governor.

00:24He wants them re-sentenced, which they could get out immediately, but he lost.

00:28Yes, so George Gascón in about a month will be out.

00:31Before the hearing on December 11th where a judge is going to decide whether to re-sentence them,

00:39whether to change the conviction from murder to manslaughter.

00:43So a new DA is going to be in charge then.

00:45Exactly. Nathan Hockman won the election and he will be the guy in charge when that hearing goes down.

00:50So what is his take on this?

00:52Now, we had him on the show a couple of weeks ago.

00:54We asked him about this and he said, look, I can't make that decision until I see all the stuff.

01:00Well, now he's won the election. He has the ability.

01:05Would he be able to see it before he's sworn in?

01:07Well, when you say see it, I can tell you my recon is the judge in this case just got 17 boxes of material.

01:17So it is a lot.

01:18Be careful what you ask.

01:21But this is after the election.

01:23We spoke to Nathan Hockman again.

01:25This is what he is saying about the Menendez brothers case.

01:27I will expeditiously be able to go through all this information.

01:32Certainly, it will have a high priority, as will other similarly situated cases

01:36have a high priority on my desk.

01:38But we're not going to delay for delay's sake.

01:41If I ask for additional time, it'll be the time I actually need to conduct this review

01:46and hopefully no additional time beyond that, because one way or the other,

01:50the Menendez's, like every defendant, deserve a decision.

01:53But I won't delay for delay's sake.

01:55On my end, I will work as fast as I can.

01:58I'm not sure what that means in terms of time.

02:01If he were to read everything, it's going to take him a long, long time.

02:06Yeah, I mean.

02:06If he's going to rely on people within the DA's office who can brief him,

02:12that's a much more truncated way of, you know, coming to a decision.

02:16I think you're right, but he gave a very responsible statement for the new DA

02:20because he ran against someone, George Gascon, who was soft on crime.

02:23And a lot of people thought this smelled like a political stunt,

02:25a way to get votes potentially in the race that he was behind.

02:28It sounds like Hockman's just going to take it seriously and come to a conclusion himself,

02:32take a fresh look at everything.

02:33And that may take a while.

02:34To your point, it's a lot of boxes of information.

02:36Now, we should say, even if he decides, you know, I oppose them getting out,

02:41that doesn't mean it's over.

02:43It just means the DA is saying we oppose it.

02:46But it is on the table.

02:47There is a hearing on December 11th.

02:50There's another hearing late this month.

02:52And the governor has a petition for clemency on his desk.

02:57So whatever the DA says, it's going to be easier for them if the DA stays on board.

03:01But even if it doesn't.

03:02But it could still happen.

03:03Absolutely.

03:03And it could happen in one of three ways.

03:05Resentencing, changing the conviction, or clemency.

03:08I agree with you, but Governor Newsom may not want to touch this.

03:11This is sort of a radioactive issue at this point.

03:13So I think he wanted the avenue through the court system.

03:16I'm not sure Governor Newsom is going to be open to clemency.

03:19What just occurred to me when you said that is,

03:21I don't think the election helped the Menendez brothers at all.

03:25Because Gavin Newsom, I think, is less likely today

03:28than he was on Monday to grant them clemency.

03:31I think you're 100% right.

03:32What are you insinuating?

03:33I'm insinuating that reading The Room, which is the United States.

03:37That Gavin Newsom is thinking in four years.

03:41Of course.

03:41Right.

03:42This is Domenico in New Jersey.

03:44And I can only imagine the emotions that Lyle and Eric are experiencing today with this news.

03:52It is so interesting because we're seeing their case being held in limbo

03:57following the political landscape in LA.

04:00And I can only imagine that their emotions right now must be on quite a spectrum.

04:07The full spectrum, including frustration that is a result of this 35-year experience.

04:13There is now yet another curveball.

04:15And they're posed then with this question of who is ultimately in control of their freedom.

04:23Well, the courts.

04:24Yep, the courts will make the decision.

04:26But by the way, this has been political from the jump

04:29because in the sense that the public interest in this,

04:33I think, has magnified the authorities making a quicker decision than they might have otherwise.

04:40So, you know, you take the good with the bad.

New L.A. D.A. Nathan Hochman Says Menendez Brothers Case Is High Priority | TMZ Live

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