Autistic Brooklyn man, wrongly imprisoned after coerced slay confession, gets $340G settlement
A settlement of $340,000 was reached in a Federal lawsuit against the City of New York for the false arrest and imprisonment of an autistic man on charges of murder. Gerald Allen obtained the settlement for Ozem Goldwire who was charged with the murder of his sister. Mr. Goldwire was forced into a false written confession after 21 hours of interrogation and spent just over one year in jail before the case was dismissed.
People v. J.G., Bronx County, July 2009
A verdict of not guilty on charges of Robbery and Burglary, arising from a Christmas Eve home invasion robbery was obtained by Jay K. Goldberg after a one week trial. The prosecution introduced a surveillance video of the purported robbers and the testimony of two eyewitness victims identifying the defendant. Mr. Goldberg successfully demonstrated that the prosecution was misinterpreting the images on the video tape. More importantly, through skilful cross-examination, Mr. Goldberg was able to show that the identification of the defendant as one of the robbers was unreliable. The prosecution had offered JG a plea to 15 years in prison; the jury returned a Not Guilty verdict on all counts in less than an hour and a half.
S.A. v. City of New York, et al., Eastern District of New York, June 2009
A settlement was reached in a Federal lawsuit for the use of excessive force by members of the New York Police Department. Jay K. Goldberg obtained $215,000 for S.A. whose ankle was severely fractured while being placed under arrest at a Brooklyn subway station by Transit Officers.
People v. Maley, Queens County, August 2008
Drug charges resulting from a seizure made pursuant to a search warrant were dismissed as a result of a motion brought by Jay K. Goldberg. By carefully researching the issues, Mr. Goldberg was able to convince the court that the charges were insufficient as a matter of law. As a result, the case was dismissed and the client was saved the cost and risk of a trial.
People v. A.V., Kings County, August 2008
A verdict of not guilty on charges of Burglary was obtained by Jay K. Goldberg after a four day trial. The prosecution introduced a video-tape of the burglary as well as an alleged confession by the defendant. Mr. Goldberg successfully convinced the jury that the person in the video was not the defendant and that the officer who testified as to the confession was an unreliable witness.
People v. E.R., Bronx County, May 2008
A verdict of not guilty on charges of Driving While Intoxicated was obtained by Gerald Allen after a four day trial. The prosecution introduced evidence that the defendant’s alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. Mr. Allen skillfully and successfully cross-examined two expert witnesses to establish that the alcohol test was not reliable and that the police evidence of intoxication could not be true.
CASE DISMISSED
New York Law Journal, 8/25/08
Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, obtained the dismissal of drug possession charges resulting from a search warrant seizure. In People v. Maley, Queens County, Mr. Goldberg convinced the court that as a matter of law all charges against the defendant had to be dropped.
CASES OF FALSE ARREST AND POLICE BRUTALITY
New York Daily News, 9/13/2004; New York Post, 9/10/04
HAUNTED FROM THE GRAVE
Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, files suit against the City of New York for the multiple arrests, over a period of four years, of a person whose name is the same as a fugitive. Despite NYPD records showing that the fugitive had died ten years before his client's arrest, "the officers took no steps" to have the warrant removed from the system.
New York Daily News, 7/7/04
TAKIN' IT ON THE CHIN
Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, obtains $350,000 settlement from the City of New York, for assault of a retired U.S. Customs narcotics agent during the execution of a search warrant at the home of his children.
New York Daily News, 6/14/04; New York Newsday , 8/23/04
WHY HIS NAME SPELLS TROUBLE
Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, files suit against the City of New York for the multiple arrests of a man whose identity had been stolen by a fugitive. Despite being held for 16 days on two separate occasions, and receiving a letter from a judge that he was not the person wanted, the police continued to arrest the man based on the mistaken identity.
CRIMINAL CASES
New York Daily News, 12/9/99; New York Times, 12/9/99
COPS LIE MAY KO CASE
Gerald Allen, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, successfully defends client in DWI prosecution by demonstrating that police officer perjured himself in testimony about arrest. Through investigation and cross-examination, Mr. Allen was able to show that the officer's testimony that the arrest occurred in Brooklyn was a lie.
New York Times, 3/10/99; New York Daily News; 3/12/99
MAN IS FOUND NOT GUILTY IN DEATH OF INFANT
Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, obtains not guilty verdict on all charges against a Brooklyn man, charged with the murder of his 4 month old baby. The defendant, a deacon of his church, had been accused of punching the baby in the stomach thereby causing a rupture in the abdominal lining. Mr. Goldberg was able to demonstrate that the fatal blow may have been delivered by someone else, that the defendant's attempts to resuscitate the infant may have caused the rupture and that the infant died as a result of negligent medical care.
New York Times, 1/17/98
MANSLAUGHTER VERDICT IN DEATH OF NEWBORN
Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, successfully defended a 20 year-old woman against charges that she murdered her newborn infant. As a result of the conviction on the lesser charge, the defendant was sentenced to probation instead of the life imprisonment that would have come with a murder conviction. Through cross-examination of the Medical Examiner and the presentation of expert testimony, Mr. Goldberg was able to establish that the newborn baby's lungs were so severely damaged at birth that it could not have survived.
New York Times, 5/3/97; New York Daily News, 5/3/97; New York Post, 5/3/97
TWO OFFICERS CLEARED IN KILLING
Gerald Allen and Jay K. Goldberg, of GOLDBERG & ALLEN, successfully represented two NYPD officers before a Brooklyn Grand Jury investigating the shooting death of an unarmed murder suspect. The man, who had been told to place his hands on the steering wheel of his car, instead lunged for an object which appeared to be a handgun.
