Constitutional Civil Rights Litigation
Constitutional civil rights litigation has historically been the core of NSB’s practice. As such, we specialize in obtaining verdicts and settlements for victims of wrongful convictions, excessive force, and prison abuses.
We have tried more complex constitutional civil rights cases to verdict in state and federal courts nationwide than almost any firm in the country. Our vast trial experience, our expertise in Section 1983 litigation, and our unparalleled knowledge of the complex and constantly changing legal landscape in the area of civil rights allows us to achieve substantial verdicts and settlements for our clients. NSB’s successes include conceiving and successfully litigating new legal theories, culminating in numerous multimillion dollar verdicts in some of the most hostile jurisdictions in the country, as well as unprecedented settlements including the largest individual settlement in the history of New York City. In addition to substantial recovery for individual clients, we have pressed for and won significant systemic reforms in police departments and prosecutors’ office nationwide.
Representative matters include:
Barry Gibbs, a former Brooklyn postman, spent almost 19 years in prison after being framed by “Mafia Cop” Louis Eppolito before a federal reinvestigation exonerated him. In 2010, NSB settled Mr. Gibbs’s case against the City of New York based on Eppolito’s misconduct as well as the City’s failure to supervise Eppolito properly in this case and as a matter of practice. This settlement, which was reached on the eve of trial, was the largest settlement ever paid to an individual plaintiff by the City of New York.
Jose Garcia spent nearly 16 years in jail and prison for a 1991 murder in Bronx, New York, even though he was in the Dominican Republic at the time of the crime. During the civil rights litigation following his exoneration, NSB developed evidence that the sole eyewitness against him had been coerced by an NYPD officer into falsely identifying Mr. Garcia at trial. In 2010, NSB achieved a substantial settlement to compensate Mr. Garcia and his four sons for his 16 years of wrongful incarceration.
Hector Gonzalez served more than 6 years in prison for a murder he did not commit before an investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York revealed the true killers and decisive evidence of Mr. Gonzalez’s innocence through DNA testing. NSB obtained 2008’s largest settlement against the NYPD on Mr. Gonzalez’s behalf.
Larry Mayes, an African-American man, spent more than 18 years in prison as a result of intentional and systemic misconduct by Hammond, Indiana police officers before he was exonerated through DNA testing. In 2006, NSB obtained a substantial jury verdict in federal court in Indiana on behalf of Mr. Mayes against the Captain of Detectives and the City of Hammond.
Abner Louima, a Haitian man who was tortured by NYPD officers, brought a lawsuit resulting in a settlement with the City of New York and the Police Officer’s Union. The Louima case is believed to be the first case in which a police officers’ union contributed to a civil rights settlement. As a result of our representation of Mr. Louima, the NYPD and the Police Union also implemented a number of structural reforms to reduce the dangers of police cover-ups.
Earl Washington, Jr., a mentally retarded man, spent 9 1/2 years on death row as a result of intentional police misconduct before DNA testing exonerated him. In 2006, NSB won Virginia’s first federal jury verdict in a wrongful conviction case against the State Police detective who fabricated evidence against Mr. Washington. As a direct result of this litigation, errors in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s DNA lab were exposed, identifying the actual perpetrator, who has since pled guilty, leading Governor Mark Warner to order an audit of the lab’s DNA work.
See Press: AP, Cville, Washington Post
Danny Reyes and Jarmaine Grant
Danny Reyes and Jarmaine Grant were two of four African-American and Hispanic athletes who were racially profiled and then shot by New Jersey State Troopers. Their lawsuit resulted in a historic settlement that prompted the New Jersey Legislature to take action toward eliminating racial profiling in New Jersey.
See press on more representative cases:
Atkins: LA Times, Gregory: Courier-Journal, Sarsfield: Telegram & Gazette, Lloyd: NY Times, Prater: The Tennessean, Pizzuto: NY Times