Eric Menendez

Re "Abramson to Defend Erik Menendez," April 6: As a citizen of Ventura County, I am outraged that the taxpayers of Los Angeles County will be footing the bill for Leslie Abramson's legal fees for confessed murderer Eric Menendez. And what a bill it will be at $125,000 per year! The court-appointed counsel for brother Lyle indicates that the defense will not be ready for trial until later this year. Ms. Abramson will probably collect in 1995 if the past is any indication of the length of the trial for "the boys."

Re "Abramson to Defend Erik Menendez," April 6: As a citizen of Ventura County, I am outraged that the taxpayers of Los Angeles County will be footing the bill for Leslie Abramson's legal fees for confessed murderer Eric Menendez. And what a bill it will be at $125,000 per year! The court-appointed counsel for brother Lyle indicates that the defense will not be ready for trial until later this year. Ms. Abramson will probably collect in 1995 if the past is any indication of the length of the trial for "the boys."

Seeking to revoke his license, state authorities Friday accused Beverly Hills psychologist L. Jerome Oziel of misconduct, alleging that he illegally allowed the secret tape-recording of the therapy sessions that led police to arrest Lyle and Erik Menendez for murder. The State Board of Psychology also accused Oziel of furnishing drugs without prescriptions to two women and of assaulting both of them while they were his lovers.

Seeking to revoke his license, state authorities Friday accused Beverly Hills psychologist L. Jerome Oziel of misconduct, alleging that he illegally allowed the secret tape-recording of the therapy sessions that led police to arrest Lyle and Erik Menendez for murder. The State Board of Psychology also accused Oziel of furnishing drugs without prescriptions to two women and of assaulting both of them while they were his lovers.

Seeking to revoke his license, state authorities Friday accused Beverly Hills psychologist L. Jerome Oziel of misconduct, alleging that he illegally allowed the secret tape-recording of the therapy sessions that led police to arrest Lyle and Erik Menendez for murder. The State Board of Psychology also accused Oziel of furnishing drugs without prescription to two women and of assaulting both of them while they were his lovers.

The eldest son of slain entertainment executive Jose E. Menendez said Friday that robbery could not have been a motive for the killing of his father and mother because nothing was taken from the family's Beverly Hills mansion. "Nothing was missing," Lyle Menendez said. "Robbery wasn't a motive."

California, like 46 other states, allows cameras in its courtrooms under varying circumstances. Here judges have the discretion to allow or ban cameras from their proceedings. Our intention is not to argue the law or the legitimate use of judicial discretion in these matters. We simply abhor the kind of convenient scapegoating we keep hearing about televised trials in the aftermath of the O.J. Simpson murder case.

It's Everynight at the L.A. County Jail. Fifty or so men, just booked, just a fraction of the day's criminal parade, stand in a single, sullen line. At the head of this procession, the men strip and turn their clothes over to a gloved trusty. Next comes a cavity search, jail garb and a cell.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge barred the public Friday from a hearing on whether to release audiotapes of psychotherapy sessions in which two brothers allegedly incriminated themselves in the deaths of their wealthy parents. Judge James Albracht, who has been criticized by the defense for selectively releasing evidence in the case, said he is required by law to conduct proceedings regarding potentially confidential matters in private.

Seeking to revoke his license, state authorities Friday accused Beverly Hills psychologist L. Jerome Oziel of misconduct, alleging that he illegally allowed the secret tape-recording of the therapy sessions that led police to arrest Lyle and Erik Menendez for murder. The State Board of Psychology also accused Oziel of furnishing drugs without prescription to two women and of assaulting both of them while they were his lovers.

At this time last year, in this space, we noted the San Fernando Valley's high and low points of 1994. It was just too easy, especially in a year in which the Glendale City Council briefly (and outrageously) decided to end its pigeon problem by hooking the birds up to automobile tailpipes and gassing them. We have decided to increase the degree of difficulty this year.

Prosecutors have disclosed that they want to try both Lyle and Eric Menendez before one jury and do not intend to call their star witness from the first trial. In a lengthy legal brief filed Monday by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, they disclosed tidbits of new evidence and said they do not intend to call Beverly Hills psychologist L. Jerome Oziel as a witness in the retrial. The only reason to call Oziel, prosecutors said, would be to explain how he made a Dec.