Maryland Jury Awards $5.6 Million for False Arrest and Detention

by Matt Clarke

On October 25, 2012, a Maryland jury awarded a man $5.6 million for damages incurred after he was arrested in Washington, D.C. on an invalid computer entry indicating an active bench warrant from Prince George's County.

Christopher ...

CA Man Receives $720,000 Settlement for 11 Years False Imprisonment

A Los Angeles man who spent more than a decade in prison for three murders and a rape he didn't commit will receive $720,000 to settle his lawsuit against the city.

David Allen Jones, who spent a total of 11 years behind bars for the wrongful convictions, reached the agreement with the LA City Council after DNA evidence cleared him of the killings.

Jones was convicted in 1995 for the murders of Tammie Christmas, Mary Edwards and Debra Williams.

The rape conviction was against a fourth woman.

Police initially singled out Jones for questioning because he lived near where the victims' bodies were found in South LA. Also, Jones had been previously convicted of the attempted rape of a prostitute.

Jones, who is described of having the mental capacity of an 8-year-old, has always maintained his innocence of these crimes, but encountered trouble by giving conflicting statements regarding his actions at the time of the murders.

Glen Tucker, Jones' attorney, called the deal fair. "It was a long time coming," he said.

The same DNA tests that cleared Jones led to the arrest of Chester D. Turner for the murders ...

California Man Awarded $18 Million for False Arrest, Malicious Prosecution

In 2002 Raul Ramirez was arrested and charged with kidnapping and assault after a 16-year-old female student was abducted at gunpoint. The girl escaped when the perpetrator demanded that she perform a sex act on him.

Ramirez, a 29-year-old teacher ...

Malpractice Suit Proceeds against Michigan Defense Attorney in Wrongful Conviction Case

by David Reutter

A former prisoner whose sexual assault conviction was reversed after he served seven years in prison can sue his attorney for malpractice after the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal an appellate court’s ruling.

Jackob Trakhtenberg, 73, was convicted of second-degree sexual conduct for allegedly touching the genitals of his eight-year-old daughter and forcing her to touch his genitals. He was convicted following a bench trial; his attorney didn’t ask for a jury, didn’t make an opening statement and only called Trakhtenberg as a witness.

After his appeal was denied, Trakhtenberg filed a legal malpractice claim against his defense attorney, Deborah McKelvy. Meanwhile, he moved for relief from judgment in his criminal case. That motion was denied, as was an appeal. The Michigan Supreme Court, however, ordered an evidentiary hearing.

Voluminous testimony was taken at the hearing. The appellate court reversed based on collateral estoppel, as it found in the malpractice case that McKelvy’s performance fell within the “attorney judgment rule.” It also held she was not ineffective. The Michigan Supreme Court reversed and upheld the trial court’s ruling, finding that McKelvy’s “performance in this ...

$145,000 Settlement for U.S. Citizen Held on Immigration Detainer due to Racial Profiling

An American citizen who was racially profiled and held in jail on an immigration detainer has reached settlements totaling $145,000 with three government agencies in a civil rights lawsuit.

Ernesto Galarza was arrested in Allentown, Pennsylvania with ...

$14.5 Million Awarded to Oklahoma Man for 14 Years Wrongful Imprisonment

A Tulsa, Oklahoma, man freed in 2002 after spending 14 years in prison for a rape he did not commit won a $14.5 Million award after a trial in federal court in March 2006.

Arvin McGee, Jr., now 52, was convicted in a 1987 rape and kidnapping. The conviction was overturned 14 years later after DNA evidence exonerated McGee.

”It's justice,” said a jubilant McGee after hearing the civil trial verdict.

Following his exoneration and release from prison, McGee sued the city of Tulsa and the Tulsa police department, alleging that Tulsa police acted with ”deliberate indifference” in relation to a five-man photo lineup the victim used to identify McGee as her assailant.

The civil verdict was "understandable in light of the fact that he was convicted of a crime he didn't commit,” said Deputy City Attorney Larry Simmons. However, he said the city would likely appeal the verdict.

DNA testing later revealed that another man had committed the crime. However, because the then-seven-year statute of limitations had expired, the man could not be prosecuted.

Sources: Associated Press, Yahoo! News

$4.4M to Arizona Man Wrongly Convicted of Murder — Twice

The city of Phoenix and Maricopa County have agreed to pay a total of $4.4 million to a man who was twice convicted for a murder he did not commit.

Ray Krone, then a postal worker, was arrested for the 1991 killing of Kim Ancona, who was a bartender at a Phoenix lounge Krone frequented. His conviction, which came a year later, was based largely on the fact that his teeth were said to have matched bite marks found on the victim's body. Krone was sentenced to die for the crime, and then spent more than 10 years in prison, including two years on death row.

However, Krone's conviction was overturned two years later on procedural grounds. At his second trial, Krone was again convicted. But because the judge in his second trial expressed doubt about his guilt, Krone was spared the death penalty, and instead sentenced to life in prison.

In 2002, however, DNA tests proved that Krone could not have been the killer. The DNA found at the scene of the crime was instead linked to another man who was already in prison on other charges.

Krone, then ...

$1 Million Settlement for New Jersey Man Exonerated after 18 Years Wrongful Imprisonment

A New Jersey man exonerated after serving 18 years for murder and sexual assault received a $1 million settlement. The exoneration was the result of DNA evidence.

Larry L. Peterson was found guilty on March 17, 1989, ...

New York False Imprisonment Claim Revived; Administratively-Imposed PRS Term Invalid

by Mark Wilson

On December 26, 2013, a New York appellate court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a prisoner’s false imprisonment claim.

In 2000, Francis Moulton was sentenced to 42 months in prison on a robbery conviction. The trial court did not impose a mandatory term of post-release supervision (PRS), but the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) administratively added a five-year PRS term when Moulton was released in 2003.

In 2006, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the administrative imposition of a PRS term violates due process and is a nullity. See: Earley v. Murray, 451 F.3d 71 (2d Cir. 2006) [PLN, April 2010, p.46].

Nevertheless, DOCS did not rescind Moulton’s administratively-imposed PRS term and he was arrested and reincarcerated several times for violating the conditions of his PRS.

The New York Court of Appeals held on April 29, 2008 “that only a sentencing court has the authority to impose the PRS component of a defendant’s sentence and that DOCS acted in excess of its jurisdiction when it administratively imposed a period of PRS.” See: Matter of Garner v. New York State Dept. of ...

Prosecutorial Misconduct: Taking the Justice Out of Criminal Justice

by Christopher Zoukis

The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America. His discretion is tremendous.... While the prosecutor at his best is one of the most beneficent forces in our society, when he acts from malice or other base motives, he is one of the worst.
—Former U.S. Attorney General Robert Jackson

In a recent case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, veteran judge Henry F. Floyd offered a rare public rebuke of federal prosecutors in North Carolina, who, the court found, had engaged in a pattern of misconduct.

“Mistakes happen,” Floyd wrote. “Flawless trials are desirable but rarely attainable. Nevertheless, the frequency of the ‘flubs’ committed by [the prosecutors] raises questions regarding whether the errors are fairly characterized as unintentional.”

“Yet the United States Attorney’s office in this district seems unfazed by the fact that discovery abuses violate constitutional guarantees and misrepresentations erode faith that justice is achievable,” he added. “Something must be done.”

To demonstrate the seriousness of the violations, the appellate court ordered a new trial for federal prisoner Gregory Bartko, who had been convicted ...