Judge Postpones Retrial of Menendez Brothers to June 12 : Courts: Defense lawyer facing surgery in February sought more preparation time. Prosecutors say long delay is turning murder case into ‘national joke.’

Over prosecution objections that the long delay in retrying the Menendez brothers on murder charges was turning the case into a “national joke,” the judge opted Monday to push the start date back to June 12.

The retrial had been set for March 13, but Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg ruled Monday that defense lawyers were entitled to more preparation time.

One of Lyle Menendez’s lawyers, Deputy Public Defender Terri Towery, tore knee ligaments in a skiing accident three weeks ago, faces surgery in February and said she couldn’t possibly be ready for a March trial. It would be “unconscionable,” Weisberg said, not to give her time to heal.

Brothers Lyle Menendez, who turned 27 a few weeks ago, and Erik Menendez, now 24, are charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun slayings of their wealthy parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. Prosecutors allege that the brothers killed out of hatred and greed and are seeking the death penalty. The brothers admit the shootings but say they lashed out in fear after years of abuse.

At their first trial, separate juries--one for each brother--deadlocked between murder and lesser manslaughter charges. The trial ended in January, 1994.

When it was over, new prosecutors, David Conn and Carol Najera, took over. Then the brothers claimed that they were broke, and the public defender’s office took over Lyle Menendez’s defense. Leslie Abramson, Erik Menendez’s lead defense attorney, asked for--and ultimately got--public funds.

That sequence took until the spring. Then Weisberg allowed both sides months more to review the mountain of documents from the first trial.

Conn said Monday that a year was enough time to prepare and urged Weisberg to stick with a March 13 start.

A recent magazine caricature, portraying the balding brothers in the year 2035, alleged that the “murder defendants cum sweater magnates” were back in court “asking for yet another postponement of their retrial,” and Conn said Monday outside the courtroom, “I don’t want to see that happen.”

Inside court, he turned on Abramson, launching the latest in a series of sharp exchanges between the new prosecution team and the defense.

It was “well-known,” Conn said, that Abramson would benefit from a delay because she has a “financial arrangement” to offer commentary for ABC-TV’s coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

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Conn asked: “If she can make that much money on (the Simpson) case, why should she ever go to trial in this case--until the O.J. Simpson case is over?”

Abramson declined afterward to comment on the issue. Teri Everett, a network spokeswoman, confirmed Monday that Abramson is one of several paid consultants on the Simpson case but declined to say what the lawyer makes.

In court, Conn said Abramson is “being paid by the county of Los Angeles at the rate of $10,000 per month. She should be ready.”

Retorted Abramson: “Mr. Conn’s vituperative personal attack is really out of place.” On a lighter note, she also offered: “I’m pleased that at least I’m not being accused of hitting Ms. Towery in the back of the knee.”

When the bickering ended, Weisberg said it seemed apparent that Abramson--who has been Erik Menendez’s attorney for nearly five years--could be ready in March. But with Towery out for at least several weeks, “realistically . . . there is need for additional time to prepare.”

In other issues, prosecutors said Monday that they want Park Dietz, the noted Newport Beach psychiatrist, to conduct a thorough examination of both brothers.

Dietz has been involved in several high-profile cases, including those of would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley, La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick and Wisconsin serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Weisberg said state law gives him no authority to authorize such an examination unless the brothers make their mental state an issue in the second trial. It was the central issue in the first trial.

Another hearing in the Menendez case is scheduled Wednesday. Mark Slotkin--a confidant of both the Menendez brothers and O.J. Simpson--is due to testify about his relationship with the brothers.