defender
Who is defense lawyer Mark Geragos and what is his connection to the Menendez Brothers?
MARK Geragos is one of the most powerful lawyers in America, who had already defended Winona Ryder, Nicole Ritchie and Michael Jackson before he took on the Menendez brothers as clients.
On October 24, 2024, it was announced that a recommendation was being made to a judge to reexamine the brothers’ sentence and Geragos is hoping that new evidence will help set the brothers free.
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Becoming an acclaimed lawyer
Mark was born in Los Angeles on October 5, 1957, where attended Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada.
He graduated with honors and went on to double major in anthropology and sociology at Haverford College.
Mark added to his long list of academic achievements when he earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law school which allowed him to be added to the State Bar of California in 1983.
Throughout his career, he has always maintained a close relationship with his Armenian heritage and has fought several legal battles in relation to the Armenian Genocide.
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Mark is the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos, where he oversees criminal defence and civil ligation,
Famous clients
Mark has defended some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, though he made his name defending Susan McDougal who was a former business partner of Bill Clinton’s.
In 2002, he defended Winona Ryder who had been charged with stealing more than $5,500 of merchandise from a Beverly Hills store.
Thanks to his efforts, Ryder was sentenced to three years probation and was ordered to undergo physiological and drug counseling.
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He also defended Michael Jackson in the early stages of the People v Jackson 2005 trial which saw the pop singer accused of sexual abuse.
However, Jackson ultimately removed Mark as his attorney and suggested that Mark’s focus may have been on the Scott Peterson case.
Mark later saw himself involved in another Clinton case, when he defended President Bill Clinton’s brother Roger Clinton Jr who was facing alcohol-related charges.
Thanks to Mark, all of the charges were dismissed.
He was one of the lead lawyers in two groundbreaking federal class action lawsuits against New York Life Insurance and AXA, who had issued insurance policies during the Armenian genocide.
The two cases were settled for over $37.5 million.
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The Menendez brothers
The Menendez brothers were arrested in March 1990 for the murder of their parents in August 1989.
They alleged in court that their crime had been motivated by sexual abuse perpetrated against them by their father, but the prosecution, led by Pamela Bozanich, claimed that the murder had been motivated by a desire to claim their multi-million dollar inheritance early.
Their lawyer, Leslie Abramson, fought fiercely alongside Jill Lansing but the first trial ended in a hung jury.
Leslie tried again with a new lawyer named Charles Gessler, who managed to save the brothers from execution.
However, eventually, the brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Taking the case
Years later, Mark took the brothers on as clients and a new piece of evidence seemed to back up their claims.
A letter, written by Erik to his cousin Andy, detailed the alleged abuse that had been perpetrated against him by his father.
Also, a member of the Puerto Rican boyband Menudo named Roy Rossello claimed that Jose had abused him too.
On October 24, 2024, George Gascón announced that he would be recommending that a judge should reexamine the Menendez brothers’ sentence.
He suggested that their sentences should be amended to life in prison with the possibility of parole or fifty years in prison with the possibility of parole.
Mark welcomed the news and said: "Now what happens is, it goes in front of a judge.
“That judge now will make the decision.
“What the D.A. recommends is just that.
“It's a recommendation.
“It's up to a judge to decide what to do.
“If there is a hearing, all of these family members who are behind me will be heard.
“All of these family members will uniformly ask one thing, which is 'bring them home, enough is enough'
“Enough is enough.
“That's uniform.
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“This is the family that knows them.
“This is the family that believes 35 years is enough."
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