Leslie Abramson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leslie Hope Abramson (1943-10-06)October 6, 1943 (age 82) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Queens College UCLA School of Law (JD) |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Spouse | Tim Rutten (divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
Leslie Hope Abramson (born October 6, 1943) is a retired[1] Americancriminal defense attorney best known for her role in the legal defense ofLyle and Erik Menendez.[2] She is also a published author.[3]
Abramson was born inFlushing, Queens, New York City to Jewish immigrant parents.[4] She graduated fromQueens College and in 1969 received aJuris Doctor (J.D.) fromUCLA School of Law.[5][6]
In 1970, Abramson was admitted to theState Bar of California. She began her career in theLos Angeles CountyPublic Defender's office, where she worked for six years.[2] She entered private practice as a defense attorney in 1976,[6] and developed a reputation as a fierce advocate for her clients.[2] She was twice named trial lawyer of the year by the L.A. Criminal Courts Bar Association.[6][2] Over the course of her career, only one client that she represented received thedeath penalty – a multiple murderer named Ricky Sanders, who shot eleven people in a walk-in freezer in a Bob's Big Boy restaurant, killing four of them.[6]
In 1988, Abramson was able to obtain a verdict ofmanslaughter with a sentence ofprobation, rather than murder, for 17-year old Arnel Salvatierra, who had killed his father. Abramson argued that the father had been abusive.[7][2] In 1990, Abramson won the acquittal of Dr. Khalid Parwez, a Pakistani-born gynecologist accused of strangling and dismembering his 11-year-old son,[2] presenting an alibi for Parwez, and arguing that Parwez's brother, who had returned to Pakistan, was the likely culprit.[6]
Abramson gained national attention in the early 1990s, when she represented Erik Menendez in his trial for the murder of his parents, again presenting parental abuse as the defense for the crime alleged.[2] She stirred controversy when William Vicary, Erik's psychiatrist, testified that she had him delete and rewrite passages of his notes.[8][7] When asked by the judge about it, she twice invoked herFifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,[8] and later asserted that any discussions were protected byattorney–client privilege.[7] As a result, an investigation was launched by the state bar.[9] Following a three-year investigation, the state bar closed its case "after deciding that there was insufficient evidence to conclude she violated ethical rules in Menendez brothers' retrial."[10][2][11]
In 1997, Abramson published a book,The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law.[2] In 2004, she was hired byPhil Spector, who was charged with fatally shooting actressLana Clarkson at his suburban Alhambra, California mansion, replacing his former attorney,Robert Shapiro.[12] She resigned from representing Spector over conflicts between them. Spector was later convicted of murder with different counsel.[2]
Abramson was married to apharmacist with whom she had a daughter, Laine. They divorced in 1969.[2] She marriedLos Angeles Times reporterTim Rutten and the couple adopted a son.[2] They divorced in 2007.[17] Rutten and Abramson remained close until he died in September 2022.