Two deputy district attorneys have filed damages claims against the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and D.A. Nathan Hochman, alleging they were demoted and retaliated against over their advocacy for resentencing the Menendez brothers.
Prosecutors Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford indicated in tort claims filed on Feb. 3 that they are each seeking more than $5 million in damages, alleging they were harassed and discriminated against because of their recommendation to resentence Eric and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life sentences for killing their parents in 1989. Tort claims are a preliminary step toward the filing of a formal lawsuit.
Theberge and Lunsford submitted a memorandum to the Los Angeles County Superior Court during the tenure of former District Attorney George Gascón favoring the brothers’ resentencing under California Penal Code section 1172.1. That section allows courts to review and resentence defendants under certain conditions after felony convictions.
During Gascón’s term, the two prosecutors were in management positions, with Theberge in charge of the county’s resentencing unit and Lunsford serving as assistant head deputy for post-conviction and litigation. After Hochman defeated Gascón in November and then became district attorney, Theberge was reassigned to the Alternative Public Defender’s Office, “at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy,” according to her claim.
Lunsford was reassigned as a calendar attorney at the Norwalk Courthouse.
One of their attorneys, Justin Shegerian of Shegerian & Associates, stressed that prior to the demotions, the two prosecutors had glowing performance reviews. The harassment began after Hochman was elected district attorney on a “tough-on-crime” platform, according to the law firm.
“Following the law, they believed the Menendez brothers should be resentenced,” Shegerian told the Southern California Record. “They didn't do it because they felt like it or because they wanted to or because the public wanted them to."
Theberge was the victim of age and gender discrimination, was publicly defamed and accused of breaching her duty to be candid with the court, according to her claim. Lunsford faced discrimination for supporting Theberge, his claim states, and he was also accused of being incompetent and being a “quisling,” meaning a Nazi collaborator.
“Because they followed the law and recommended for the resentencing, the new district attorney’s administration demoted them and sent them to humiliating and embarrassing positions,” Shegerian said.
Each prosecutor is seeking more than $250,000 in economic damages and more than $5 million in non-economic damages. Their tort complaints were filed with the county Board of Supervisors. Public entities have 45 days to respond to the claims or reject them, and a lawsuit can be filed thereafter.
In addition to the D.A.’s Office and Hoffman, the defendants listed in the claims included Deputy District Attorney John Lewin and the county.
Although Theberge and Lunsford indicated in their claims that they supported Gascón for re-election, Shegerian said they were simply doing their jobs and following the provisions of state law when they recommended the resentencing of the Menendez brothers.
“Nancy and Brock are committed public servants and accomplished attorneys who followed the law – the law they believed required them to advocate for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers,” he said. “The harassment and retaliation that followed was politically motivated, illegal and devastating.”