Kramer Levin Client To Receive Lifechanging Cash Award as Compensation for Wrongful Conviction

​A Kramer Levin client seeking compensation for a decade of wrongful imprisonment has been awarded approximately $1 million from the State of Maryland, plus health and education benefits.

The client was wrongfully convicted for conspiracy to commit murder over 25 years ago and lost a decade in prison before he was released as a result of the efforts of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore Law School. In 2023, he submitted a request for compensation under the Walter Lomax Act, which provides a process for exonerees to seek compensation from a Maryland administrative court.

Kramer Levin joined the case as appellate counsel after the administrative judge ruled that the Walter Lomax Act did not cover conspiracy charges. After briefing the appeal, Kramer Levin worked with co-counsel to advocate for the legislature to amend the law to expressly reach conspiracy. The Maryland Attorney General and the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office supported the amendment, which was ultimately passed and signed by Governor Wes Moore.

Kramer Levin continued as co-counsel on remand, where the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office argued our client was guilty of the original crime. Kramer Levin and co-counsel took the case to a two-day trial, where we presented alibi witnesses and expert testimony demonstrating that our client was innocent. In late April, the administrative judge issued an exhaustive 50-page opinion adopting our arguments in full and granting our client relief. 

This is the second exoneree compensation case the firm has successfully litigated in Maryland.