A judge said he favors one jury instead of two for Lyle and Erik Menendez's second murder trial because it would be easier to manage.
Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg said at a Wednesday hearing that he worried about sequestering two panels and keeping one jury's decision secret while the other panel deliberated.Lyle, 26, and Erik, 23, are charged with killing their millionaire parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. They could face the death penalty if convicted. They admit killing the couple but say they did so in self-defense after years of abuse.
Their first trial - a single trial with two juries - ended in hung juries. No retrial has been set.
Erik's attorneys said they wanted separate trials. Lyle's attorneys said they wanted two juries but didn't have a position on separate trials.
The defense said that evidence damaging only to one brother could hurt the other if the jury would have to recomend a sentence.
The judge indicated that could be a compelling reason to have two juries, and he set a hearing on the matter for July 22.