The infamous case of Erik and Lyle Menendez was back in court Monday, with their aunts appealing to the judge on their behalf, during a status hearing on the brothers’ habeas corpus petition, which was filed last year for a review of new evidence that did not exist. presented at the hearing.

The hearing was delayed 40 minutes due to problems getting Lyle and Erik Menendez into court via video. After several attempts, the brothers were able to listen to the proceedings over the telephone.

A lottery drawing was held for 16 public seats in the courtroom. Dozens of citizens arrived early in the morning to wait for a chance to witness the hearing.

Judge Michael Jesic on Monday allowed testimony from two of the brothers’ aunts — their mother’s sister, Joan VanderMolen, and their father’s sister, Terry Baralt — because of health concerns.

The aunts “both made impassioned pleas to the judge to send the brothers home,” attorney Mark Geragos told reporters after the hearing, calling it a “moving experience.” The aunts testified about “all the good things” the brothers did in prison, Geragos said.

Jesic postponed another scheduled hearing on the brothers’ sentencing recommendation from Dec. 11 to Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

Jesic said he needs time to go through 17 boxes of files on the case and said he wants to give the newly elected Los Angeles district attorney enough time to get up to speed.

“By January 30 or 31, we’re hoping that by the end of that, or sometime sooner, we’ll actually get the brothers released,” Geragos said.

Two new pieces of evidence are at the center of the brothers’ habeas corpus petition.

Among them are allegations from a former member of the boy band Menudo, who revealed last year that he was raped by the brothers’ father, Jose Menendez.

The second piece is a letter Erik Menendez wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders, detailing his alleged abuse at the hands of his father. The cousin testified about the alleged abuse during the trial, but the letter – which would have corroborated the cousin’s testimony – was not found until several years ago, according to the brothers’ lawyer.

The case began in 1989, when Lyle Menendez, then 21, and Erik Menendez, then 18, fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, at the family’s Beverly Hills home. The defense claimed the brothers acted in self-defense after enduring years of sexual abuse at the hands of their father, but prosecutors alleged they killed for money.

The first trial, which had separate juries for each brother, ended in a mistrial. In 1996, after the second trial – in which the judge rejected much of the evidence of sexual abuse – the brothers were convicted and both sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without parole.

As the habeas corpus petition moves through the courts, the brothers have two other possible paths to freedom.

One path is through resentment. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced last month that he is recommending revoking the brothers’ life sentence without the possibility of parole. Instead, they should be convicted of murder, which would carry a prison sentence of 50 years to life. Because both brothers were under 26 years old at the time of the crimes, the new sentence would make them immediately eligible for parole.

The district attorney’s office said sentencing recommendations take into account many factors, including rehabilitation in prison and abuse or trauma that contributed to the crime. Gascón praised the work Lyle and Erik Menendez did behind bars to rehabilitate themselves and help other inmates.

Shortly after Gascón’s announcement, he lost his race for re-election to Nathan Hochman. The incoming district attorney, who will take office Dec. 2, said he plans to read through the evidence — including confidential jail records and interviews with family, attorneys and law enforcement — before voicing his support for taking a new condemnation.

The other possible path to freedom is the brothers’ clemency petition, which they have submitted to California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Last week, Newsom said he would await Hochman’s “review and analysis of the Menendez case before making any clemency decisions.”

Alex Stone, Matt Gutman and Ashley Riegle of ABC News contributed to this report.