Menendez Family Drags D.A.'s Office to Court for Showing Crime Scene Pics

The Menendez Brothers' relatives are ripping L.A. County D.A. Nathan Hochman ... blasting his use of crime scene photos in a recent court hearing as a "grotesque spectacle" with dire consequences.

Bryan Freedman -- the attorney representing the family -- rips Hochman in a new court filing ... saying the county's top prosecutor is making a mockery of Marsy's Law, which protects the rights of crime victims.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Freedman says Hochman gratuitously and needlessly displayed crime scene photos at Friday's court hearing, which was attended by a bunch of Erik's and Lyle's relatives -- and he claims the photos caused the brothers' 85-year-old aunt, Terry Baralt, such severe emotional distress she ended up in a hospital bed.

Freedman says the D.A.'s Office victimized the Menendez family members a second time with their "scandalous behavior," and he says they are treating the Menendez clan as "second-class victims due to a policy disagreement" between Hochman and the family.

Freedman says Hochman's actions were "gratuitous and needlessly displayed" and served no legitimate purpose other than to "inflame emotions to achieve maximum 'shock' value."

The family is asking the court to admonish the D.A.'s Office and order them to give the family advance notice of any future plans to show crime scene photos in the Menendez case.

Freedman says Hochman is not treating the family with fairness and respect and he claims Hochman is making a mockery of a law intended to ensure victims are free from intimidation, harassment, and abuse.

For his part, Hochman has since apologized for not giving advance warning to the family ... though he says the photos needed to be shown in order to depict the brutality of the crime.

There are more Menendez hearings in the near future ... and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.