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Domonique Moore and Cedric Warren Sue Kansas City, Kansas Police for Over 15 Years of Wrongful Imprisonment
Named defendants in federal lawsuits include the estate of notoriously corrupt Police Captain Roger Golubski, as well as police responsible for fabricating a false eyewitness identification and hiding evidence (KANSAS CITY, KANSAS) The national civil rights law firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP (NSBHF), and the local firm Morgan Pilate LLP and national firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP today filed wrongful conviction lawsuits on behalf of Domonique Moore, age 41, and Cedric Warren, age 35, who were imprisoned for a combined total of more than 31 years for a 2009 double homicide that they did not commit. Moore and Warren were released from prison late last year on December 11, 2024. They are not available for interview but have issued the following statements: Domonique Moore: “No one should have to endure what I went through. I’m so happy for my freedom, but I want justice and accountability for the more than 15 years that the police stole from me when they framed me. I also want to thank everyone who supported and helped me through the nightmare that was my wrongful conviction. I’m grateful to my lawyers, family members, and friends who have helped me along the way.” Cedric
NSBHF Announces Three Partners and a New Firm Name
National Civil Rights Law Firm Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP Announces Three Partners and a New Firm Name Leading Civil Rights Trial Attorneys $43 million+ award against Nassau County for police misconduct that framed two innocent men, John Restivo and Dennis Halstead, who spent nearly 18 years in prison for a rape and murder DNA later proved they did not commit. (Note: An extended list of wins and settlements is available here.) The transition announced today marks the third name change for the firm. The firm was officially founded in February 2000. Johnnie Cochran (who died in 2005), Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck were founding partners. In 2009, the firm moved from Cochran Neufeld & Scheck (CNS) to Neufeld Scheck & Brustin (NSB). Hoffmann joined the firm as a junior attorney in 2006 and Freudenberger as a Cochran Fellow in 2008; they became partners in 2013 and equity partners in
Super Lawyers Recognizes NSBHF Partner Amelia Green as a “Rising Star” in Civil Rights Litigation
In an article titled “Where It’s Been, Where It’s Heading,” Super Lawyers profiles six Rising Stars who “will carry the legal mantle into the middle of the 21st century.” Among them, singled out for her civil rights litigation expertise, is NSBHF partner Amelia Green. “It was my first job out of law school,” Green told Super Lawyers. “The cases I do are some of the most serious police misconduct cases. Many of my clients have been wrongfully convicted and framed by the police—evidence fabricated against them, forced to falsely confess. Representing that client base in high-stakes litigation with really big systemic issues—the combination was a great fit.” Read the full article here.
Two Exonerated Louisville Men to Receive $20.5 Million For 22 Years Spent Behind Bars
(LOUISVILLE, KY) The law firms of Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP and Loevy & Loevy today announced that Louisville has agreed to pay $20.5 million to their clients Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Clark, who each spent 22 years of their lives behind bars for a heinous murder they did not commit. The settlement stems from egregious misconduct committed by officers from the Louisville Police Department, including disgraced former Louisville Metro Police detective Mark Handy. Still pending is the law firms’ civil case against two additional sets of defendants: the Meade County Sheriff’s office and the Kentucky State Police, whose officials’ misconduct contributed significantly to the wrongful convictions of Hardin and Clark in 1995. Today’s settlement comes after the two national legal teams, working with Louisville attorney Larry D. Simon, brought a civil lawsuit in 2018 presenting overwhelming evidence of police misconduct and conspiracy to hide evidence in the 1992 murder investigation
New Orleans to Pay Highest Settlement on Record to John Floyd Freed from Prison After 36 Years
NSB has won a $5.5 million settlement on behalf of John Floyd, who was wrongfully sentenced to life in Angola prison for the 1980 stabbing death of William Hines. A federal judge overturned his conviction in 2017, after finding “that Floyd has met the demanding standard of actual innocence.” The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in 2018, agreeing that Mr. Floyd was denied a fair trial and there was extensive evidence of his innocence. According to the Times-Picayune, the settlement is several times larger than those in other suits for wrongful convictions in Orleans Parish in recent years. As detailed in NSB’s complaint, filed in 2019, Mr. Floyd was wrongfully convicted after New Orleans police fabricated nearly identical false confessions to two separate murders and then took advantage of Mr. Floyd’s intellectual deficits to coerce him into signing them. Not only did no physical or forensic
Kansas Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Reaches $12.5 Million Settlement
NSB has won a $12.5 million settlement on behalf of Lamonte McIntyre and his mother Rosie, after he spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. According to the Associated Press, “McIntyre was 17 in 1994 when he was arrested in Kansas City for the shooting deaths of 21-year-old Doniel Quinn and 34-year-old Donald Ewing…. McIntyre and his mother have said Golubski coerced her into sex and then framed her teenage son for the double homicide because she rejected the detective’s later sexual advances. They also allege Golubski abused dozens of Black women for years and many officers were aware of his conduct.” Mr. McIntyre was freed in 2017 after a local prosecutor asked the court to vacate his convictions and drop all charges, calling his case an example of “manifest injustice.” Prosecutors had presented no physical evidence tying McIntyre to the killings and their case
Idaho City to Pay $11.7 Million to Man Wrongfully Convicted in 1996 Killing
NSB today announced that it has won an $11.7 million settlement on behalf of Christopher Tapp, who was psychologically coerced by police into confessing to a 1996 murder he did not commit. The settlement also provides that the City of Idaho Falls discuss possible reforms to its interrogation techniques with leading experts in the field. Shortly before the settlement was announced, Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper issued a letter apologizing to Mr. Tapp for the city’s role in his conviction and 20 years of incarceration, saying she hoped that the settlement and apology would help bring closure, The New York Times reported. According to the Times, Mr. Tapp was cleared in 2019 of the murder of Angie Dodge after DNA evidence from the crime scene was matched—using genetic genealogy—to the true perpetrator, Brian Dripps. Dripps was caught and pled guilty to the crime in 2021. “Chris Tapp’s wrongful conviction never
NSB Secures $12 Million Settlement from NYPD for Wrongful Conviction
NSB and co-counsel Paul, Weiss have successfully resolved a federal civil rights case on behalf of Pablo Fernandez, securing one of the largest-ever wrongful conviction settlements to be paid by the City of New York. The case, brought in the Southern District of New York against the City and former NYPD officers, sought compensation for Mr. Fernandez’s wrongful conviction in 1996 for a homicide that he did not commit. In March 2022, following mediation facilitated by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert. W. Lehrburger, the City agreed to settle the case for $12 million before any depositions had been taken in the case. Mr. Fernandez was just 22 years old and a recent immigrant from the Dominican Republic when he was charged in the 1993 murder-for-hire slaying of a gang leader on a crowded Harlem street. His civil suit, filed by NSB and the pro bono law firm Paul, Weiss, details the
Detroit Council Approves $7.5M Settlement for Wrongfully Imprisoned Teen
NSB has won a $7.5 million settlement on behalf of Davontae Sanford, who entered prison as a teenager and spent eight years there before he was freed. As reported by The Detroit News, Davontae Sanford was just 15 when he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shootings of four people at a drug house on Runyon, two blocks from his home on Detroit’s east side in 2007. Two weeks after the teen went to prison, professional hit man Vincent Smothers confessed to 12 killings, including the September 17, 2007 homicides on Runyon – but police suppressed the information and fought attempts by innocence advocates to exonerate Mr. Sanford. Mr. Sanford was released on June 8, 2016 and on July 19, 2016, the charges were dismissed. In September 2017, NSB lawyers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Sanford’s behalf, seeking damages from the police officers involved and the city of