2 prosecutors sue LA County district attorney; claim they were demoted over Menendez case

Two Los Angeles County prosecutors are suing District Attorney Nathan Hochman, alleging he demoted them because they supported re-sentencing the Menendez brothers, who are serving life in prison for murder.

In separate lawsuits filed Monday in Superior Court, deputy district attorneys Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford accuse their boss of retaliation, harassment and defamation. They also allege both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and violations of the state labor code.

“Theberge and Lunsford assert that they were punished for fulfilling their legal duties, applying the law as written, and standing up for justice,” Theberge’s lawsuit states.

One of the suits also alleges that Hochman retaliated against Theberge for supporting Hochman’s opponent in the last election.

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The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory damages, as well as punitive damages against the individual defendants.

The District Attorney's Office said Hochman does not comment on pending litigation.

Details from the court documents

Theberge and Lunsford were first assigned to review the Menendez case by then-District Attorney George Gascón. The attorneys concluded that under California resentencing laws, the Menendez brothers were entitled to a resentencing hearing.

The brothers shot and killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. Later, they were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Erik Menendez (left) is shown in 2016 and Lyle Menendez in 2018 in photos provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

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AP

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Gascón, who had promised a more rehabilitative approach to criminal justice, supported the finding and filed a motion with the court seeking resentencing. He said Erik and Lyle Menendez, who have long claimed they were sexually abused by their father, had “paid their debt to society.”

In her lawsuit, Theberge said she and Lunsford’s support of resentencing the Menendez brothers — which could lead to their release — “was grounded in fact, supported by law, and filed with integrity.”

During last year’s campaign for district attorney, Hochman promised to review the Menendez case. And when he was elected in November, he demoted Theberge and Lunsford and installed his own people to conduct the review.

Theberge’s lawsuit says the “backlash” was "politically motivated, vindictive, and unlawful.”

In his lawsuit, Lunsford said he was “an exemplary employee” and never received a poor performance review. He said he followed the law by stating the Menendez brothers should be resentenced “because their incarceration is no longer in the interest of justice and that to recommend against resentencing would be a violation” of California law.

Theberge, a unit leader and former public defender, was transferred out of the District Attorney's Office entirely and reassigned to the Alternate Public Defender's Office, which the complaint describes as a "clear punitive move.''

Lunsford, a 25-year veteran, was stripped of his supervisory duties and reassigned to a low-level calendar deputy position in a remote branch court, according to the suit.

Claims of retaliation

When Hochman announced earlier this year that he opposed resentencing the brothers, he said he believed they had shown insufficient remorse for their crime. He said he and his prosecutors had thoroughly reviewed the case and were reversing Gascón’s decision to file for resentencing.

He did not disclose any demotions among members of his staff at the time, and his office did not respond to questions this week related to the allegations made in the lawsuit, including claims that the two deputy district attorneys were retaliated against.

“Theberge and Lunsford were not only demoted but also subjected to a campaign of retaliation, harassment, and reputational harm,” Theberge’s lawsuit states.

Deputy District Attorney John Lewin is named as a co-defendant in the case. According to the lawsuit, Theberge said Lewin accused her of dishonesty and breaching her duty of candor to the court in connection with her motion for resentencing.

Her lawsuit called that a “slanderous attack on her integrity.”

Lewin had no comment.

After Lunsford spoke out in her defense, Lewin publicly ridiculed Theberge and Lunsford, calling them a “quisling”— a term likening him to a Nazi collaborator.

“These retaliatory acts created a hostile and humiliating work environment and were directly connected to their role in filing the Menendez motion,” the lawsuit states.

Theberge accuses the District Attorney’s Office of retaliating against her for multiple unlawful reasons, including “Hochman’s belief that Theberge supported his political opponent, a violation of civil service rules and California Statutes prohibiting political discrimination.”

Likewise, Lunsford said in his lawsuit that the district attorney retaliated against him for various reasons, including standing up for Theberge when she was allegedly harassed in the office.

“Theberge was discriminated against and treated differently even compared to Brock Lunsford, a younger male,” the lawsuit states. “Theberge was removed from the District Attorney’s office entirely and Lunsford was demoted but allowed to remain at the District Attorney’s office.”

Prosecutors and lawyers in the Menendez brothers’ case are expected back in court Friday.