The Menendez Brothers: A Case Study

Catalog description

In 1989, brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez shot and killed their parents in their Beverly Hills home. Their trials and ensuing appeals became one the most notorious criminal cases in modern American history--and it also raises some of the most complicated and vexing issues in criminal law and policy. This class will use the case as a vehicle to explore these issues from multiple angles and include guest speakers closely involved with the case, including key prosecution and defense figures. The class will be taught by Mike Romano, who is one of the attorneys currently representing Lyle and Erik in post-conviction proceedings. At trial, Lyle and Erik gave graphic testimony that they killed their parents after suffering years of sexual and physical emotional abuse. The prosecution argued that the brothers were lying about the abuse, that they murdered their parents for substantial inheritances, and that they should receive the death penalty. After a first trial ended with a hung jury, Erik and Lyle were retried, convicted, and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. After 35 years behind bars, newly discovered evidence and newly enacted legal reforms prompted reevaluation of their case, and in May of this year both brothers were given a chance to go before the parole board to determine if they should be released from prison. This class will examine the brothers' trial, appeals, post-conviction litigation, and parole process as a lens to explore significant legal, ethical, and social challenges within the criminal justice system. The case raises important questions about criminal culpability, punishment, and in-prison rehabilitation. We will delve into a wide variety of legal themes and criminal law doctrine, including the law of murder and manslaughter, self-defense, capital punishment, and the evolution of intimate partner violence. Other topics covered will…