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Jury Awards Stefon Morant $38,000,000 for Wrongful Conviction
Verdict Comes After Jury Finds the City of New Haven and Individual New Haven Police Department Officers Liable for Putting an Innocent Man in Prison for 21 Years (Hartford, CT) After a month-long trial in the District of Connecticut, a jury has awarded Morant $38,000,000, the national civil rights firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP announced today. Morant was wrongfully convicted in 1994 for a crime he had nothing to do with. Though no amount of money can make up for what he went through, the verdict is powerful proof of what Morant has always maintained—he is innocent and his conviction happened because of egregious police misconduct. The jury found not only that NHPD detectives made up false evidence and lied to frame Morant, but that the City of New Haven was directly responsible. Specifically, the jury found the City liable for its widespread custom and practice of suppressing evidence favorable to criminal defendants. Municipal liability claims are notoriously hard to prove, and the verdict against the City is a strong indictment of the City’s longstanding tolerance for widespread police corruption. The jury also found former NHPD officer Vincent Raucci liable for the failure to disclose evidence favorable to criminal
Maurice Hastings, Exonerated After 38 Years Behind Bars, Sues Inglewood Police Officers and LADA Investigator For Wrongful Conviction
Clear Signs Pointing to the Real Perpetrator Were Ignored by Police, Lawsuit Charges (LOS ANGELES, CA) National civil rights law firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP (NSBHF) today filed a wrongful conviction lawsuit on behalf of Maurice Hastings, who served 38 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Earlier this year, a court ruled Mr. Hastings, 70, “factually innocent” after DNA evidence pointed to the real perpetrator. Emma Freudenberger, a partner with NSBHF, called Mr. Hastings’ case “a stunning example of the some of the worst consequences that can result from intentional police misconduct.” She added: “We look forward to exposing the breadth and scope of the wrongdoing that caused Maurice’s wrongful conviction and failed to protect the real perpetrator’s other victims.” The lawsuit seeks damages for Mr. Hastings’ 38 years of wrongful incarceration for the 1983 carjacking, rape, and murder of Roberta Wydermyer and
Los Angeles to Pay $8 Million to Ruben Martinez, Jr., Imprisoned 12 Years for Robberies He Didn’t Commit
Settlement Is One of the Largest Per-Year of Wrongful Incarceration in Los Angeles History (LOS ANGELES, CA) National civil rights law firm Neufeld Scheck Brustin Hoffmann & Freudenberger, LLP, with co-counsel Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Angela Berry and criminal defense and civil rights attorney Ian Wallach, today announced that Los Angeles has agreed to pay $8 million to their client Ruben Martinez and his wife Maria, in compensation for the 12 years Mr. Martinez spent behind bars for a series of robberies he did not commit. The extraordinary settlement—one of the largest per-year wrongful incarceration settlements ever paid by Los Angeles—recognizes not only the anguish Mr. Martinez and his family experienced throughout his wrongful imprisonment, but also the egregious police misconduct and missteps that came to light through discovery arising from the civil lawsuit. “Ruben Martinez was exonerated due to the heroic efforts of his wife Maria and his
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