Pro bono client cleared of wrongful conviction and released from Michigan prison
Client(s) Clark, George Edward
Jones Day represented George Clark, a man who was released from a Michigan State prison in April 2020, eighteen years after he was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole. Mr. Clark's 2002 conviction was based on the testimony of a single witness who later recanted and indicated that police detectives had coerced her statement. The Wayne County Prosecutor agreed to vacate Mr. Clark's conviction and sentence and to dismiss all charges against him after an investigation by the Prosecutor's Conviction Integrity Unit uncovered additional evidence of police misconduct.
Mr. Clark's freedom came after extensive litigation in state and federal courts. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted Mr. Clark a writ of habeas corpus in 2018 based on new evidence that established a violation of Brady v. Maryland. The Sixth Circuit later reversed, but it ordered the district court to conduct an additional evidentiary hearing into the new evidence and resolved a key issue of first impression in Mr. Clark's favor. The case was then stayed pending the outcome of the Conviction Integrity Unit's investigation.
Jones Day represented Mr. Clark in connection with the Conviction Integrity Unit's investigation, the Sixth Circuit appeal, and selected matters in the district court, including a successful motion for Mr. Clark's release on bond during the Conviction Integrity Unit's investigation.
George Clark v. Noah Nagy, No. 18-1885 (6th. Cir.); Clark v. Hoffner, No. 2-16-cv-11959 (E.D. Mich.)
