<P> Weisberg was assigned to preside over the trial of the Menendez brothers in 1993, and presided over two trials of their case, the first having ended in a hung jury . The two Menendez brothers trials "engendered a running debate" over Weisberg's conduct as trial judge, "and the influence that television may, or may not, have had on his rulings". Weisberg allowed cameras in the courtroom for the first trial, but barred them from the second, where he also disallowed many defense motions that he had allowed in the first trial . The trial gained national attention, and Weisberg himself was parodied on Saturday Night Live, where he was portrayed by Phil Hartman . The Menendez brothers were convicted in the second trial, and on July 2, 1996, Weisberg sentenced the two to life in prison without the possibility of parole . </P> <P> Weisberg retired from the judgeship in 2008 . In the 2017 Law & Order True Crime depiction of the Menendez brothers trial, Weisberg was portrayed by Anthony Edwards . </P>

What happened to the judge in the menendez trial