Leslie Hope Abramson
/ref> American criminal defense attorney best known for her role in the legal defense of Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Early life and education
Abramson was born in Flushing, Queens, New York City to Jewish immigrant parents.
[ ABRAMSON’S CAREER A LONG FIGHT FOR THE UNDERDOG The Chicago Tribune. April 8, 1997] She graduated from
Queens College and in 1969 received a
Juris Doctor (J.D.) from UCLA School of Law.
[John R. Vile, Great American Lawyers: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1 (2001), p. 287. ]
Career
Early career
In 1970, Abramson was admitted to the State Bar of California. She began her career in the Los Angeles County
Public Defender's office, where she worked for six years.
She entered private practice as a defense attorney in 1976,
and developed a reputation as a fierce advocate for her clients.
She was twice named trial lawyer of the year by the L.A. Criminal Courts Bar Association.
Over the course of her career, only one client that she represented received the
death 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.
In 1988, Abramson was able to obtain a verdict of manslaughter with a sentence of probation, rather than murder, for 17-year old Arnel Salvatierra, who had killed his father. Abramson argued that the father had been abusive.
The Menendez trial
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.
She stirred controversy when William Vicary, Erik's psychiatrist, testified that she had him delete and rewrite passages of his notes.
When asked by the judge about it, she twice invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination,
and later asserted that any discussions were protected by attorney–client privilege.
As a result, an investigation was launched by the state bar.
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."
Post-Menendez career
In 1997, Abramson published a book,
The Defense Is Ready: Life in the Trenches of Criminal Law.
In 2004, she was hired by
Phil Spector, who was charged with fatally shooting actress
Lana Clarkson at his suburban Alhambra, California mansion, replacing his former attorney, Robert Shapiro.
She resigned from representing Spector over conflicts between them. Spector was later convicted of murder with different counsel.
In popular culture
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In 1993, while the Menendez trial was still ongoing, she was parodied on Saturday Night Live, where she was portrayed by Julia Sweeney, along with John Malkovich and Rob Schneider as Lyle and Erik Menéndez.
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In the 1994 television film , Abramson is portrayed by Margaret Whitton.
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In the 1994 made-for-television film she was portrayed by actress Susan Blakely.
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The character portrayed by actress Tracey Ullman, Sydney Kross, a high-profile Beverly Hills attorney, in the HBO sketch-comedy series Tracey Takes On..., was inspired by Abramson.
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In 2017, Edie Falco portrayed Abramson in the first season of Law & Order True Crime, based on the Menendez trial.
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Ari Graynor portrayed Abramson in the 2024 Netflix series , the second season of Monsters.
Personal life
Abramson was married to a
pharmacist with whom she had a daughter, Laine. They divorced in 1969.
She married
Los Angeles Times reporter
Tim Rutten and the couple adopted a son.
They divorced in 2007.
Rutten and Abramson remained close until he died in September 2022.
