In Trondo Humphrey v. City of Anderson (N.D. Ind. 2023), the plaintiff spent 22 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned for ineffective assistance of counsel. In the criminal trial, the State’s witnesses testified that the plaintiff was not involved in the shooting, but the plaintiff was convicted based on a hearsay written statement by one of the witnesses that was erroneously admitted into evidence because the public defender failed to make a hearsay objection. After his conviction was overturned, the plaintiff, represented by Loevy & Loevy, accused the investigating officers of fabricating the written statement that had been used to convict him. Despite the absence of inculpatory testimony or any physical evidence tying the plaintiff to the crime, CJK was able to prove at summary judgment, based on corroborating evidence, that the plaintiff was the likely perpetrator. The court agreed and entered summary judgment. The case settled on appeal for 2% of the plaintiff’s initial demand.
