Abner Louima

Abner Louima is the recipient of the largest police brutality settlement in the history of New York City. His case began in the early morning hours of August 9, 1997, when Abner Louima became involved in a fight between two women outside of a Brooklyn dance club. Two police officers were attempting to end the dispute.

Police accounts of what ensued said that Abner Louima had assaulted the police officers, while he claimed that he was assaulted and then arrested. Abner Louima was subsequently arrested for assault, obstructing justice, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was then taken to the 70th Precinct police station in Brooklyn. He was beaten in the police car before arriving there.

At the police station, Abner Louima was led to the bathroom by police officer Charles Schwarz, where he assaulted by police officer Justin Volpe, who sodomized him with a plunger. The next day he was taken by police officers to a hospital, where a nurse identified his injuries as the result of assault rather than regular anal intercourse, as the police officers claimed. The nurse notified the internal affairs department of the NYPD.

Abner Louima was hospitalized for two months as a result of this assault. While he was in the hospital, his assault became a news story, leading to prompt prosecution and police action. Justin Volpe turned himself in to the internal affairs department of the NYPD. While the case against him was being prepared, the charges initially filed against Abner Louima were dropped.

The trial of Justin Volpe took place in 1999. Though he initially pled not guilty, he changed his plea and was sentenced to 30 years in jail without the possibility of parole. During the course of the trial, some of Abner Louima's testimony was questioned when he identified Schwarz as the second officer, a claim which Volpe disputed. Schwarz was convicted in a separate trial of his involvement in the assault of Abner Louima, a conviction which was subsequently overturned on appeal. However, in 2002 another trial found Schwarz guilty of perjury in his testimony regarding his role in the assault.

Two separate criminal cases were also filed. Three officers were successfully prosecuted for conspiracy in attempting to conceal evidence of the assault, but their 2000 conviction was successfully appealed two years later. One of the officers, Michael Bellomo, was also tried separately for his role in attempting to conceal the assault, but was not found guilty.

Separately from the criminal prosecution of the officers involved in the case, Abner Louima filed a civil lawsuit against the city of New York seeking a damages settlement of $150 million. In July of 2001, a settlement agreement was negotiated. The city of New York paid Abner Louima $7.215 million, while another $1.625 million was paid by the city's police union, making for a combined settlement payment of $8.75 million.

On November 6, 2012, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced that Jeffrey Thomas of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release after he assaulted a federal law enforcement officer.  Thomas was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge Warren W. Eginton.  

The assault happened while the FBI Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force were investigating narcotics and violent crime activity in Bridgeport along the Trumbull Gardens housing complex.  

On May 24, 2012, federal officers asked to speak to Thomas after he drove his car and stopped at the side of the road along Old Town Road and Oman Street in Trumbull, Connecticut.  When the federal officers approached his vehicle, Thomas proceeded to put the car in reverse, ram into the officers’ car, and then drive frantically toward the two FBI agents.  When Thomas approached the agents with his car, one of the agents had to fire his gun to protect himself.  

A pursuit pursued after the assault, and Thomas crashed the vehicle a short distance away.  He exited the vehicle after he crashed and ran into a private residence on Voight Avenue in Bridgeport, but he was apprehended in a short amount of time.  A search of his vehicle found crack cocaine and heroin.  

Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting a federal officer on August 14 and was sentenced to 57 months in prison.  The Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force is made up of the Bridgeport, Norwalk, and Trumbull Police Department and FBI agents and works together with the Connecticut State Police Statewide Narcotics Task Force.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

On October 17, 2012, the San Diego FBI and local law enforcement asked the public for help in identifying and catching a serial bank robber known as the “Chubby Bandit.”  Any information is helpful.  

The suspect is believed to have robbed four banks between October 9 and October 16.  The “Chubby Bandit” uses a note to demand money from the tellers, and he used verbal commands in some of the robberies as well.  He threatened to have a gun in one of the robberies, but the gun was not captured by surveillance cameras.  

The “Chubby Bandit” is believed to have committed the following robberies.  

The first robbery occurred on October 9, 2012 at the U.S. Bank on 12655 Scripps Poway Parkway in Poway, California at about 5:32 p.m.

The second robbery occurred on October 11, 2012 at Chase Bank on 7176 Avenida Encinas in Solana Beach, California around 1:03 p.m.  

The third robbery occurred on October 13, 2012 at Chase Bank on 607 Lomas Santa Fe in Solana Beach, California at approximately 1:30 p.m.

The fourth robbery occurred on October 15, 2012 at Wells Fargo Bank on 276 North El Camino Real in Encinitas, California around 2:47 p.m.

The last robbery occurred on October 16, 2012 at the U.S. Bank on 770 Village Drive in Carlsbad, California at approximately 2:23 p.m.  

Witnesses and surveillance have described the suspect as a white male between 25 and 35 years old.  He is between 5’6” and 5’9” tall and weighs between 180 and 200 pounds.  He has worn three different hats during the robberies, and they all had an “NY” logo on the front.  

If you have any information about the robberies or the suspect, you need to call the FBI immediately at the following telephone number: (858) 565-1255.  Your name will remain anonymous if you choose.  

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Chicago, IL—For defense attorney Joel Brodsky, the default in a criminal case isn't to start negotiating a plea deal with the government.

“My philosophy in a criminal case is to fight,” Brodsky told laws.com in a recent interview.  “I always say, you don't need to hire an attorney to plead guilty—you can do that yourself.  You need an attorney to fight for you.”

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Brodsky, a lifelong Chicago resident and a lawyer since 1982, says that the area of criminal defense practice is changing substantially because of technology.  “Cell phones, forensics, pathology and other disciplines are always improving, so there is always something new to keep up to date with in this area of law,” he explains.

Criminal defense attorneys, unlike other legal specialists, often have to contend with problems involving extensive media interest in the cases they're working on.  Over the years, Brodsky—an award-winning lawyer who has been named one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by National Trial Lawyers—has handled a number of these cases, and has learned a number of lessons from working around media frenzies.

“One of the lessons I've learned is that the media has to be managed from the get-go,” he says.  “You really need someone who can handle the media, such as a public relations expert—someone who is able to say 'no' to a Nancy Grace and 'yes' to the Wall Street Journal.”

While Brodsky welcomes technological changes in the courtroom in many ways, there is one piece of technology he feels needs to be kept out of trials.  “If I had the choice, I would never allow a camera inside the courtroom, because it is destructive to the defense.  There are people in the public who watch the cases on television who make the case the focus of their life.  People set up blogs and spend hours watching trials,” he says.

As trials become home entertainment, Brodsky feels that the practice of law will be cheapened and defenses will be hurt.  “I think what's going to happen next is that these trials will become entertaining to the public, just in the way that reality television is popular today,” Brodsky speculates.  “The audience expects one type of ending to every story, and that is for the 'bad guy' of the story to lose and the 'good guy' to win.  It's going to become a real issue if we continue to televise and monitor these cases.”

Some of the cases Brodsky is handling today involve accusations of police misconduct, including the case of Darryl Christian, who has already served 23 years in prison.  “We have the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission of Illinois involved in this case, because the police basically beat and tortured him for a murder confession for a crime he did not commit,” Brodsky says.  “The state commission already found that he was tortured and I am hopeful that he will be released soon..”

While Brodsky has won a number of accolades and awards, he says that he's proudest of the rewards that can't be hung on a wall: “What I value most is the appreciation I receive from my clients—being able to achieve the best results I can possibly get and have them tell me that they are grateful for all the effort and time I have put into their case.  The best feeling I have is when I am able to give someone their life back.”

To learn more about Joel Brodsky and his practice, click here

Jackson, MS—When attorneys and even judges come under suspicion of criminal activity, they want to hire the best of the best.  In Mississippi and the surrounding states, that's often criminal defense attorney John Colette.

After working at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi, Colette went into private practice, specializing in defending complex cases involving white-collar crime and drugs.  As a defense attorney, he was nominated and inducted into the American Board of Criminal Lawyers after a selective process.

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When it comes to advising his clients, Colette says that going to trial often depends on whether the charges are state or federal, and what “real” evidence the government claims to have.

“The federal sentencing guidelines are so draconian that regardless of the plea, sometimes it is best to still take a case to trial, because there is not much to lose,” Colette told laws.com in a recent interview. “All it takes is one juror to decide that the defendant is not guilty of the crime to get a better outcome.”

In state courts, though, things are different: “If a defendant decides to go to trial, I often feel the judges tend to penalize them for exercising their Constitutional rights, which is not fair, when it comes time for sentencing.”

According to Colette, federal drug policy has not led to a reduction in drug distribution, but has instead ruined lives.  “The so-called 'War on Drugs' has led to an unbelievable amount of people being incarcerated who are small time dealers and consumers,” he says.  “The focus has been misdirected, and it should be pointed toward the big-time dealers.  But, of course, that would be a more difficult task for the government to do, so instead, they focus on picking on the little guys.”

Not every case turns out the way attorneys want it to, and Colette says that this can sometimes lead to soul-searching on the part of defense lawyers.  “You will have times when you fight a battle for weeks, and the jury comes back with a guilty verdict.  You will start to doubt yourself and wonder, why should I do this?  But it's always important to remember that when you do succeed, there is no greater feeling than knowing that your hard work has been paid back.”

For Colette, some of that payback has come through literally getting clients' lives back  During a case that took place five years ago, he was responsible for getting a woman acquitted who had been accuse of murdering her husband.  “This individual had lost the first trial and had gotten a life sentence,” he says.

While the situation looked grim, Colette was undeterred and eventually persevered, getting a not guilty verdict at a second trial.  “It was a pretty unique experience for me to have this young woman with two young children get exonerated from a lifetime in prison,” he recalls.  “She proved her innocence, and now she can move on with her life and raise her children.  This was a great success in my career as an attorney—it doesn't get any better than saving someone's life.”

To learn more about John Colette and his practice, click here.

Houston, TX—When Terri Zimmermann was growing up, she didn't think she would end up becoming the criminal defense attorney she is today.

“My father was a lawyer and a Marine officer, and although I loved and admired my father, I told myself from an early age that I would never go into the military or become a lawyer,” Zimmermann told laws.com in a recent interview.  “But I think destiny had other plans for me.”

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After graduating from Georgetown University Law Center, Zimmermann began her active duty tour in the Marine Corps and eventually became a prosecutor.  “The Marine Corps tells you what to do, you don't always have a choice.  Although I was excited about getting into the courtroom, I became a prosecutor because the Marine Corps thought it would be the best place for me at that time” she says.

After working as an active-duty Marine for three and a half years, Zimmermann joined her father's criminal defense practice, Zimmermann, Lavine, Zimmermann, & Sampson, becoming a shareholder after 11 years of practice in 2007.  She says that making the choice to team up with her father's firm was one she didn't take lightly.

“I didn't think it would be fair to let all the knowledge I had gained  while on active duty go to waste, and I began to appreciate what my father was doing—he was fighting for the underdog,” Zimmermann says.

From there, starting to litigate in a courtroom made Zimmermann happy with her choice.  “I did not want to be a paper pusher, or fall into the arms of personal injury or real estate litigation, and handling civil cases usually meant never seeing the inside of a courtroom,” she explains.  “I knew I was not going to be happy in my career choice unless I was litigating in a courtroom.”

When it comes to defending her clients in court, Zimmermann believes that one of the best strategies in her arsenal is using respect and courtesy for everyone involved—even the prosecutors.  “A lot of animosity between prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers can be avoided if they learn to treat one another with respect and view each other as individuals,” she says.

The rest of the courtroom staff matters, too, Zimmermann believes: “It's sad and bothersome for me to see young lawyers treat the court staff disrespectfully and with an attitude.  What many of these ego-driven lawyers fail to understand is that the court staff can sometimes help lawyers out in ways they never expect.  My best advice to a rookie would be to always be nice to everyone in the court.”

Zimmermann’s respect and fearlessness for litigating cases in court has led her to be recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in the state of Texas by The National Trial Lawyers. She has worked on several nationally-known cases including the "Border Shooting Case" where an active duty Marine returned fire on the United States-Mexican border, killing the man who had fired at his patrol augmenting the civilian drug interdiction efforts. No charges were filed after three grand jury investigations.

More recently, Zimmermann represented a client in the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces where she was granted relief for her client, reversing the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals on an unlawful command influence issue. The Air Force declined to retry the case and the charges were dismissed.

As an active member of the Marine Corps Reserve, she recently completed a three-year tour as an appellate judge for the Navy and Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals.  “I am very proud of that assignment,” Zimmermann says of her selection as an appellate judge.  “It was a very competitive process to be selected by a board based on merit.  It was an amazing and wonderful experience.”

Today, Terri Zimmermann is board certified in Criminal Law and Criminal Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and is certified as a Criminal Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She is licensed to practice law in Texas and Maryland, as well as the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Despite all accolades and work she has accomplished she says she still has more to do.  “I am still in my 40s, and I am looking forward to what other wonderful things may be on the horizon for me.”
To learn more about Terri Zimmermann and her practice, click here.

San Francisco, CA—One of the top 30 trial lawyers in the United States, James Brosnahan first realized he wanted to practice criminal law before he even went to law school.

Once he graduated, he was plunged directly into the deep end.  “My very first trial was a first degree murder case,” Brosnahan recalled in a recent interview with laws.com.  “Of course, at that time, it was a very big case for me.  It was in the Pima reservation, south of Phoenix.”

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Brosnahan has been practicing law for over 50 years, most recently at Morrison & Foerster, recently named 2013 Law Firm of the Year by Chambers Global.  In half a century of practicing law, the situation has changed substantially for criminal defendants.

“Today, it is extremely difficult for criminal defense lawyers to practice law, because of the federal sentencing guidelines,” he explains.  “They basically convert humans into mathematical statistics.”

These sentencing guidelines have led to an increase in plea agreements.  Making the decision to plea bargain or go to trial is rarely an easy one, according to Brosnahan.  “Before going to trial or taking a plea deal, I always analyze the future of my client.  What is this plea deal going to do for my client's future?  What is it that I can do to benefit my client's future?  And—most importantly—what does the client want to do?”

After representing clients in a number of high profile cases, Brosnahan has his pick of cases today, specializing in over 25 areas of practice.  “I choose cases if there is an interesting issue in the case,” he says.  “What really gets me going is if the government has overreached, and they oftentimes do.  I like to resist that, and find out how to do things within the rules, because they're hardly ever what the government thinks they are.  Many times, the defendant is not guilty of what they were charged with.”

Brosnahan believes that it's hard to overestimate the role of individual jurors and jury selection during trial.  “I don't think I knew enough human psychology when I first started, and I did not comprehend the real dynamics of jury deliberations,” he says.  “I thought early on that the outcome of the case was all based on my performance, but it turned out that the jury plays a much bigger role than I thought.”

Taking high profile, difficult cases, including for defendants like John Walker Lindh, has led to media attention—and the press can be tough to deal with.  “What I have learned from working on these high-profiled cases is to not let the spotlight change or influence the integrity of my work.”  While it can be tempting to talk to the press, Brosnahan cautions younger attorneys: “The only audience that matters is the judge and the jury, so a lot of attorneys have to be extremely careful not to let the media bully them around.”

When getting started in criminal defense, Brosnahan says that it's critical to know how you appear and sound in court.  “Practice your delivery as much as possible.  Public speaking is essential in this practice, so you must find as many opportunities to speak to a large audience as possible.  It also doesn't hurt to read a few biographies of notable criminal defense attorneys to have a better understanding of the practice.  What has worked for me—and what I highly recommend—is to talk to criminal defense attorneys who have the time and patience to answer questions.”

Morrison & Foerster strives to be an extremely well-balanced law firm, providing a broad range of services. With more than 1,000 lawyers in 16 offices in key technology and financial centers in the United States, Europe and Asia, their clients include some of the largest financial institutions, investment banks, and Fortune 100, technology and life science companies. To learn more about James Brosnahan and his practice, click here.