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Williams Interviewed Regarding Proposed Remedy for Wrongful Convictions

by | Feb 19, 2021 | Civil Rights Law

Gerald Williams

Gerald Williams

Williams Cedar attorney Gerald Williams was recently quoted in a Harrisburg Patriot News article regarding the proposed remedy for wrongful convictions. Below is a portion of the article:

Philadelphia civil attorney Gerald Williams, who has handled about 12 such cases in his career, noted that
exonoree plaintiffs have to prove civil rights violations in federal court, and as long as police or prosecutors
can make a credible defense that they were acting in good faith throughout their prosecution, that’s
impossible to do. Because sometimes, in fact, these wrongful arrests and convictions are just that – the mistakes of a human run system.

 

If there has been provable misconduct, Williams said he has seen cases where the employing agency has
terminated the offending employees and refused to extend liability coverage for their actions because they
acted outside policy and regulation. That leaves plaintiffs seeking damages from shallow pockets.
Only about 20 of Pennsylvania’s exonerees had received civil settlements through 2017. And while the
settlements often bring bigger dollar amounts, these lawsuits also often take years to resolve, meaning
exonerees aren’t getting any financial assistance when they need it the most.

 

“It’s very far from a slam dunk” for the exonerees,” Williams said. “That’s why these statutes are kind of
important.”

Click here to view the article in full.

The attorneys at Williams Cedar are dedicated to giving voice to the wrongfully convicted and any victims of civil rights violations. Contact us online or call 856-470-9777 or 215-557-0099 today to arrange a free and confidential consultation with an experienced and dedicated civil rights lawyer.

From our offices in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, New Jersey, we represent clients throughout the surrounding areas, including those in Camden, Cherry Hill, Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey as well as those in Allentown, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Greensburg, Johnstown, Eerie, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Williams Cedar Teams with Co-Counsel in Class Action Civil Rights Case

by | Dec 12, 2017 | Civil Rights Law

Prison Sexual Abuse Edna Mahan, Civil Rights

On December 11, 2017 , attorneys from Williams Cedar and Mark B. Frost & Associates filed a class action asserting claims on behalf of women incarcerated at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, a state prison in Clinton, New Jersey. The complaint describes a years-long pattern of sexual harassment and abuse perpetrated by corrections officers at the facility. The plaintiffs assert that supervisory personnel at the facility and the New Jersey Department of Corrections tolerated a “persistent culture of abuse” and retaliation against women who complained about it. The conditions at EMCF have been the topic of recent news stories. The class action, Nobles, et al v. State of New Jersey Department of Corrections, et al, is filed in Mercer County, and includes actions under New Jersey’s Civil Rights Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. It seeks monetary damages and a court order requiring the Department to “implement policies and procedures sufficient to protect the rights of persons incarcerated at EMCF to be free of sexual abuse and harassment.”

As current events have borne witness, sexual harassment of women remains a serious problem in society at large. In jails and prisons, where women live under the power of frequently poorly supervised and seldom disciplined correction officers, harassment is common. The Nobles case, like other civil rights litigation, represents an attempt to provide some measure of justice to a population whose needs—and rights—are often ignored or treated with contempt.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys are Gerald J. Williams and Shauna Friedman of Williams Cedar, LLC and Mark B. Frost and Ryan Lockman of Frost & Associates. For more information, call a member of our civil rights legal team at 215-557-0099 or 856-470-9777 or contact us online.