California Governor Defers to New D.A. in Menendez Brothers’ Case

California Governor Gavin Newsom has kicked the can down the road in the direction of the new L.A. County District Attorney … regarding Erik and Lyle Menendez.

Newsom’s office just released a statement … “The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility. The Governor will defer to the D.A.-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions.”

As we reported, the outgoing D.A., George Gascón, has supported resentencing Erik and Lyle and is in favor of their release. The newly-elected D.A., Nathan Hochman, has said he won’t weigh in on how he wants to proceed until he fully reviews the case.

A hearing is set for December 11, where a judge will hear arguments on whether to re-sentence the Menendez brothers … and that could trigger a parole board hearing that could set them free.

TMZ broke the story … Erik and Lyle’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, will ask the judge to change the conviction from murder to manslaughter. Since Erik and Lyle have served 3 times the maximum sentence for manslaughter, they would be immediately free men.

As for Newsom, it’s unclear if he’ll wait for the judge to make a decision before he weighs in on clemency, but given that the case has become a real hot potato, we’re guessing Newsom’s gonna wait until the gavel comes down.