Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Defense Blog : Wrongful Conviction Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Andrew M. Hale Law Firm

 The law firm of Andrew M. Hale & Associates continues to rack up the trial wins, with the latest coming today when a federal court jury deliberated for little over an hour before finding in favor of three Chicago police officers accused of beating plaintiff Ricky Stevenson in the lock-up after he was arrested for burglary. The officers were represented by attorneys Shneur Nathan, Jonathan Boulahanis and Joan Ahn, who were able to show that two of the three officers were not even present in the police station at the time of the alleged beating. Our attorneys were also able to show, via plaintiff's mugshot and the testimony of the ER doctor, that plaintiff Stevenson did not suffer any injuries, let alone the significant injuries that he claimed. In addition to seeking compensatory damages, plaintiff had asked the jury to impose $30,000 in punitive damages against each of the officers. The jury rejected all of plaintiff's claims. Plaintiff was represented by attorney David Clark. The case was heard before Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox. This is the eighth police trial victory this year for the trial attorneys at Andrew M. Hale & Associates. 

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 A federal jury on Thursday, March 17, 2011, swiftly rejected a man's bizarre allegations against 5th District Chicago police officers claiming he was taken into a West Pullman alley and strip searched. Anthony Mensah, a convicted felon, claimed that he was driven to the alley by Officers Rosalind Bowie, Gregory Jones and James Couch and was forced to take his pants off for an anal cavity search. Notably, the search Mensah said happened in the alley was identical to an intake search he experienced in Cook County Jail as a result of a 2007 theft arrest. The jury quickly returned a verdict in favor of the officers, who said that they merely interviewed Mensah because he matched a description of a drug dealer provided to them by a concerned citizen. During the interview, Mensah yelled about his disdain for police because he lost his trucking job after he was arrested for stealing his truck and its merchandise. The Chicago police officers were represented by Shneur Nathan and Joan Ahn of Andrew M. Hale & Associates. Thomas Morrissey represented the plaintiff.

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 After three years of litigation, on February 4, 2011, a federal jury confirmed that three Chicago tactical officers from the 10th District properly arrested Jeremy Venson for selling rock cocaine on the corner of 13th Street and Keeler. The case began on November 2, 2007, when Officers Lazaro Altamirano, Christopher Jania, and John O'Keefe arrested Mr. Venson after they heard him yelling "rocks, rocks" to passing vehicle traffic. Mr. Venson was found to be in possession of cocaine. Judge James Brown emboldened Mr. Venson when he made a finding of no probable cause at the preliminary hearing and the charges were dismissed. According to Assistant State's Attorney Eric Bashirian, the prosecutor assigned to Judge Brown's courtroom for the preliminary hearing, drug charges that involve only 0.1 or 0.2 grams are routinely dismissed in the Cook County Criminal Courts because it's impractical to bring every one of these cases to trial. The way these charges are dismissed, Mr. Bashirian says, is through a judicial finding of no probable cause. Even though Mr. Bashirian's testimony and Mr. Venson's extensive criminal background was excluded at trial, the jury read through it all and made its own finding: the defendant Officers clearly had probable cause to arrest Mr. Venson. The presiding judge was the Honorable Ruben Castillo of the Northern District of Illinois. Attorneys Irene Dymkar and James Bowers represented plaintiff Venson. Attorneys Shneur Nathan and Helena Wright of Andrew M. Hale & Associates represented the defendant Officers.

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 On January 18, 2011, after a week long trial before the Honorable Virginia Kendall, a federal court jury found that seven Chicago police officers were not liable on all counts in a civil rights lawsuit brought by plaintiff Gregory Smith. Smith had alleged that the police officers used excessive force and stomped on his hand, causing a dislocation of his ring finger. He also alleged that several officers failed to intervene during the alleged beating and that he was denied medical attention. The jury rejected all of Smith's claims. Key evidence in the case was the fact that the medical evidence showed that it was impossible for Smith's finger to become dislocated due to the stomping he claimed, that Smith had plead guilty to the narcotics offenses he was arrested for, and the testimony of the officers that Smith resisted their attempts to arrest him and had to be pulled from a fence that Smith would  not let go of. Smith was represented by attorneys Jeff Neslund, Rob Robertson, and Mike Robbins. The police officers were represented by attorneys Shneur Nathan, Jonathan Boulahanis and Monifa Gray from the firm Andrew M. Hale & Associates.

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On March 4, 2010, a federal jury exonerated a 10th District Chicago Police Department tactical team accused of anally searching a man named Byron Christmas and vaginally searching his girlfriend, Tiffany Banks. The lawsuit alleged that the police officers attempted to cover up the body cavity searches by planting evidence and maliciously prosecuting Mr. Christmas and Ms. Banks. According to the officers, Christmas and Banks were arrested after they were caught selling heroin in Chicago’s Southwest side community of North Lawndale. After two days of deliberation, the jury unanimously found in favor of the officers. The jury further rejected Christmas and Banks’ inflammatory claim that their infant was abandoned in an alley at the scene of the arrests.

Although 911 evidence linking Mr. Christmas to drug dealing was not presented to the jury, the plaintiffs’ story fell apart because Ms. Banks voiced no special concern about her baby when she met with a lawyer and a physician the evening of her arrest.

Mary Ann Spillane, Shneur Nathan and Jonathan Green of the Corporation Counsel's Office represented the Chicago Police Officers. Chris Smith, Ray Smith, and Robert Johnson represented Christmas and Banks. 

Way to go Corp Counsel!!!!!!

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United States District Court Judge David H. Coar has granted the City of Chicago's motion for summary judgment in the almost 6 year extended detention Jovan Mosley case.   Mr. Mosley was arrested and tried for the murder of Howard Thomas.  The police investigation concluded that Thomas had been beaten to death by a group of three to five black men in their late teens to mid-20s. The investigation led to the arrest and prosecution of the following persons: Frad Muhammad a/k/a Big Muhammad; Lawrence Wideman a/k/a Red; Marvin Treadwell a/k/a Leno and Marlon; and Jovan Mosley a/k/a Jason, Jovizzle, “My Guy,” and “Frad’s friend."  Mr. Mosley was acquitted by a jury in 2005.  

In clearing the officers of any misconduct, Judge Coar's explained: 

The results of the 7-month investigation into the Thomas murder yielded an “honest and sound suspicion” that Mosley was implicated in the crime. From the start of their investigation, the detectives knew that a group of three to five young black men were responsible for the attack, and they learned from Garth and Williams that Fetta, Marlin, and Frad Muhammad were among that group. It is undisputed that Mosley arrived at the scene with these individuals and left the scene with them immediately after the murder. 

During the February 16, 2000 interview, Williams told the detectives that five men beat Thomas during the attack, and that Mosley was one of them. The detectives had no reason to believe that Williams was not a credible eyewitness, and an identification or a report from a single, credible victim or eyewitness can provide the basis for probable cause.

In September 2006, Jovan Mosley's case was featured in  Chicago Magazine, criticizing the Cook County Justice system for allowing Mosely to sit in jail for almost 6 years awaiting trial. Laura Caldwell and Catherine O'Daniel worked on the case. However, it is now clear by the undisputed evidence presented in the federal case, Mosely agreed to all the continuances that allowed his criminal case to linger for so long.  Had he demanded trial - a right provided to every criminal defendant - he would have gotten a trial or would have been let go.

In the end - here is just one more example of the police doing their jobs - good work!!!

Christopher Wallace, Patricia Kendall and Shneur Nathan of the Corporation Counsel's Office represented the defendant Chicago Police officers.  Sean Mulroney represented the plaintiff, Jovan Mosley. 

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