City of Long Beach Agrees to Pay Thomas Goldstein $8M

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Andy Hale

 

The City of Long Beach has apparently reached a settlement with Thomas Goldstein whereby Goldstein will receive nearly $8 million. Goldstein was living in Long Beach in 1979 when a man named John McGinest was shot and killed in an alley near Goldstein's home. Goldstein was jailed for the crime and shared a cell with heroin addict Edward Fink. Fink later told authorities that Goldstein confessed to the crime. Prosecutor's apparently based their case on Fink's testimony, despite his credibility issues, and the prosecutors failed to disclose to the defense that they would reduce Fink's sentence due to his cooperation. Long Beach Deputy Attorney Monte Machit still denies that Goldstein was wrongfully arrested or that his constitutional rights were violated and that the City of Long Beach only agreed to the settlement because it would have been more expensive to fight the case.

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Ulysses Rodriguez Charles Case - Hmm?

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Andy Hale

 Ulysses Rodriguez Charles was convicted of raping three women in a Brighton apartment back in 1980. He spent 18 years in prison before being released after DNA found on a robe and bedsheet belonged to two other men. Charles recently settled his civil lawsuit against the City of Boston for $3.25 million. Suffolk County prosecutors have insisted that the DNA evidence did not clear Charles because jurors at the trial had been told that the rapist did not ejaculate. Also, two of the women who were raped told the Boston Globe that they had no doubts that Charles was the man who raped them. Hmm??

Federal Immigration authorities intend to deport Charles to his native Trinidad as a result of other criminal convictions, including one in 1989 for trafficking in heroin while in prison.

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John Stoll To Receive $5M Settlement In 20 Year Wrongful Conviction Case Featured In The Documentary "Witch Hunt"

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Avi Kamionski

BAKERSFIELD Channel 2 News is reporting:

Kern County leaders have agreed to pay a man $5 million after he was wrongly sent to prison for 20 years. John Stoll was convicted in the 1980s on molestation charges that were eventually overturned. He was featured last year in the documentary "Witch Hunt," which told the story of a string of child molestation cases during the '80s that sent 34 Bakersfield residents to prison.

Every conviction was ultimately overturned, including Stoll's, as witnesses recanted testimony and Kern County prosecutors were accused of using coercive techniques to get children to testify against their own parents.

John Stoll's settlement is $400,000 per year for each year he was in custody, far less than the $1M a year rate that plaintiff's lawyers are attempting to set.  As recently addressed, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained that even $1M a year "approach[es] the outermost boundary of what might be thought conscionable" and is "at the outer edge of the universe of permissible awards." 

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Rape Victim Settles With City Of Chicago

Posted on March 10, 2008 by Andy Hale
A woman who alleged she was raped by Chicago Police Officer John Herman has agreed to settle her civil lawsuit against the City of Chicago for a sum believed to be in the neighborhood of $1.5 million. Last month, Herman was sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Cook County Criminal Court judge who found him guilty of aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct. Herman had contended that his sex with the victim was consensual. The victim was represented by attorneys Benjamin Nwoye and Matthew Belcher.
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Judge Holderman Denies Madison Hobley and Leroy Orange's Motion To Enforce Settlement Agreement

Posted on July 16, 2007 by Andy Hale
Judge James F. Holderman has denied plaintiffs' consolidated motion to enforce settlement and for sanctions brought by plaintiffs Madison Hobley and Leroy Orange. Plaintiffs had alleged that as of November 3, 2006, attorneys representing the City of Chicago entered into an oral settlement agreement with plaintiffs' counsel but refused to honor the settlement. Judge Holderman stated that "the court finds that there was no final settlement agreement because the proposed agreement was never approved by the Chicago City Council, a contingency all parties' counsel agree was extant and unfulfilled." Plaintiff had contended that the parties had agreed to settle three lawsuits (Madison Hobley, Leroy Orange, and Stanley Howard) for $14.8 million. The court also denied the plaintiffs' motion for sanctions.
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City of Chicago to Pay $8 Million to Larry Ollins and Omar Saunders

Posted on April 11, 2007 by Andy Hale
The Chicago Tribune has reported that the City of Chicago has reached an agreement to pay $8 million to Larry Ollins and Omar Saunders, two of the men who were convicted of the 1986 rape and murder of medical student Lori Roscetti. Ollins and Saunders were released from prison in 2001. Duane Roach and Eddie Harris pleaded guilty to Roscetti's rape and murder in 2004 and were each sentenced to 75 years in prison. In December 2006, the City of Chicago approved a $900,000 settlement to Marcellius Bradford, who had also been charged with Roscetti's rape and murder. And Calvin Ollins, Larry Ollins' cousin, settled with the City in 2003 for $1.5 million.
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City Of Chicago Settles 1998 Police Shooting Case

Posted on March 14, 2007 by Andy Hale
The City of Chicago has agreed to pay Anton Brown, Tiffany Crawford, Michael Johnson and Joe Rice the collective sum of $1.75 million stemming from a police shooting that took place on June 14, 1998 after the Chicago Bulls had won the NBA championship. The plaintiffs claimed they were shot while driving away from the police. The police officers contended they fired at plaintiffs' car as it headed towards them. The plaintiffs were represented by attorney David Cerda. The defendants were represented by James Sotos.
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Madison Hobley, Stanley Howard and Leroy Orange Claim City of Chicago Refusing to Honor Settlement

Posted on February 20, 2007 by Andy Hale
Attorneys for Madison Hobley, Stanley Howard and Leroy Orange claim in recently filed court papers that the City of Chicago is refusing to honor a collective $14.8 million settlement. The City of Chicago denies that such a settlement was reached and has stated that all settlement talks have been confidential. Hobley, Howard and Orange claim in their federal court lawsuits that they were tortured by former Chicago detective Jon Burge.  A Special Prosecutor report released last July, however, stated that Special Prosecutors did not believe Orange had been tortured and were skeptical of Hobley and Howard's claims.
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