A judge was set to decide Friday whether to proceed with resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were convicted of murdering their parents, in light of Los Angeles’ new district attorney opposing their release after 30 years behind bars.

The brothers appeared in court over Zoom but hadn’t made any public statements through the first two hours of Friday’s proceeding.

They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at ages 18 and 21 after being convicted of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.

While the defense argued they acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers killed their parents for a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

Los Angeles County’s previous progressive district attorney, George Gascón, sought resentencing for the brothers before he lost reelection to tough-on-crime candidate Nathan Hochman in November. Gascón had asked a judge to change the brothers’ sentence to 50 years to life, which would make them immediately eligible for release under California law because they committed the crime when they were younger than 26.

But last month, Hochman submitted a motion to withdraw that request, saying he did not support the brothers’ resentencing because they had not admitted to lies they told as the case unfolded about why they killed their parents and did not “fully recognize, acknowledge, and accept complete responsibility” for their crime.

The hearing Friday was to decide whether to allow prosecutors to withdraw their resentencing motion. If that request is granted, the judge also will decide whether to proceed independently with the brothers’ resentencing hearings, which are tentatively scheduled for April 17 and 18.

Deputy district attorney Habib Balian said Friday that the key issue with Gascón’s resentencing petition was that it did not fully address rehabilitation and missed key elements of the original crime committed.

“What does it mean? To learn from your mistakes and truly understand that you were wrong,” Balian said.

Balian presented evidence and video clips of the brothers’ testimony from the first trial to demonstrate instances where they “hunkered down in their bunker of deceit, lies, and deception.”

He said the brothers killed their parents out of greed when they learned they would be taken out of the will, citing psychiatrist’s notes that he said showed “this was not self-defense.”

The brothers’ attorney, Mark Geragos, called the presentation a “dog and pony show” that was irrelevant to the purpose of the hearing.

Geragos also objected to Balian including a photo of the deceased and bloody Menendez parents in his presentation, which he said “retraumatized” family members and victims. The brothers’ cousin Anamaria Baralt and aunt Terry Baralt were among the family members who were in the courtroom.

The district attorney’s opposition poses a major hurdle for the brothers, whose path to resentencing was all but certain with Gascón’s support.

The family’s relationship with Hochman also has soured. Most of the brothers’ extended family supports their resentencing. Milton Andersen, Kitty Menendez’s brother and the sole relative who opposed their release, died last month.

Tamara Goodall, a cousin of the brothers, submitted a complaint with the state asking that Hochman be removed from the case, citing his bias against the brothers and alleging he violated a law meant to protect victims’ rights.

Hochman had a “hostile, dismissive and patronizing tone” in meetings with the family and created an “intimidating and bullying atmosphere,” Goodall wrote.

In their response to the district attorney’s motion to withdraw the resentencing request, attorneys for the Menendez brothers questioned whether Hochman had legitimate reasons for doing so or was influenced by “a change of political winds.”

The attorneys pointed out that Hochman demoted Nancy Theberge and Brock Lunsford, the two deputy district attorneys who filed the original resentencing motion. Theberge and Lunsford have since filed lawsuits against Hochman alleging harassment, discrimination and retaliation for their work on the Menendez brothers case.

“The law requires fairness, not personal vendettas,” Anamaria Baralt, a cousin of the brothers, said in a statement.

Without resentencing, the brothers would still have two other pathways to freedom. They have submitted a clemency plea to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has ordered the state parole board to investigate whether the brothers would pose a risk to the public if they are released. The parole board is scheduled to hold its final hearings June 13.

The brothers also submitted a petition for habeas corpus in May 2023 asking the court to grant them a new trial in light of new evidence presented. Hochman’s office also filed a motion opposing the petition.