Hearings held before judge Cecil Mills to decide on Leslie Abramson’s appointment as defense counsel for Erik Menendez for the retrial. *additional details below*
00:00:00 March 9, 1994 hearing
00:02:46 April 5, 1994 hearing
- An inventory filed in November 1990 put the Menendez estate value at just over $7 million. (including the two homes)
- By 1994 there was no money left in the Menendez estate. (legal fees, debts and taxes depleted the estate.) Defense attorneys had to be appointed by the court.
- In 1994, The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors conducted a search for any additional family assets in the hopes of not having to pay for public defenders. No such assets were found.
- Leslie Abramson said that over the first four years (1990-1994) she had represented Erik Menendez she spent 8,000 hours on the case and that her hourly fee came to $68.
- March 9, 1994 - A hearing was held before judge Cecil Mills. Mills accepted Jill Lansing’s and Michael Burt’s request to withdraw from the case of Lyle Menendez (Burt, a San-Francisco public defender, had other case obligations. Lansing wanted to spend more time with her family. Later that year Lansing was willing to return and represent Lyle Menendez again after he filed a motion requesting she come back on the case because his public defenders were taking too long to prepare for trial. Public defenders were already appointed and Lansing was not appointed for the retrial)
- Mills appointed two public defenders as Lyle Menendez’ attorneys, Bill Weiss (Charles Gessler later took over for Weiss) and Terri Towery.
- Abramson requested to be appointed for the court rate of $100 an hour. Mills refused to appoint Abramson at taxpayers expense. Mills explained that the contract stated Abramson was to represent Menendez during “guilt and penalty phase trials”, Abramson and Menendez stated they both did not expect a second trial. Mills called it a “bad business decision”. Erik Menendez pleaded with Mills to appoint Abramson as his attorney, “Mr. Menendez,” Mills said, “I haven’t relieved your attorney. She is your attorney.” Mills dismissed co-counsel Marcia Morrisey because Abramson was familiar enough with the case there was “no further justification” for a second lawyer. (Barry Levin, a defense attorney called to give testimony at the April 5th hearing was later appointed as co-counsel for Erik Menendez in the retrial. Levin gave closing arguments in the penalty phase of the retrial.)
- Late March 1994 - Mills agreed to review documents filed by defense attorneys. Some were unsealed by Mills at the request of the L.A Times. They included a statement from Erik Menendez saying he had reconsidered and it was okay for Abramson to be relieved from the case if she was not going to be paid:
“...As a result of her efforts on my behalf and her understanding and dedication I can honestly say that she is the first adult I have encountered in my life that I came to trust. I don’t believe I could ever trust another lawyer personally and professionally as much as I do her.”
“She has spent hundred of hours interviewing me in person and hundreds more talking to me on the telephone in preparation for trial”
“I can’t conceive of having anyone else represent me in this case, I don’t think I could cope with the fear if she were replaced.”
- April 5, 1994 - Mills formally relieved Abramson from the case.
Because of potential for conflict of interest, the public defender's office could not represent both brothers. Mills agreed it would save the public money to appoint Abramson because she was familiar with the case but he refused to approve a pay by the hour. (Mills said that in 1992 the County Board of Supervisors adopted a cost-saving policy that paid private attorneys in death penalty cases a flat fee instead of by the hour. Mills, as supervising judge of the county’s criminal courts at the time pushed hard for the policy) The policy offered a flat fee of either $60,000, $90,000, $125,000 or $200,000 and up for a case, depending on the complexity.
Mills then gave his final decision calling it “a bargain”: An annual fee of $125,000. (after consulting with the public defender's office on what the fee would be if they were to take the case) Mills and Abramson shook hands standing at the side of the bench. “I think the public has benefited and hopefully Mr. Menendez has benefited so we can go forward,” Mills said.
Five other defense lawyers were called to testify on the original contract signed between Abramson and Menendez. That it did only cover the first trial and not any future trials.
“Everyone compromised and that’s the best way to resolve issues” Abramson said after the hearing. “I’m the cheapest famous lawyer in the entire world at the moment but I cannot walk away from this client”
