Landmark Settlement with the City of Cincinnati for Independent Audit of Homicide Unit DNA Evidence

Alphonse Gerhardstein, along with the Innocence Project, wins landmark settlement with the City of Cincinnati that compels an independent audit of Homicide Unit DNA evidence and awards $100,000 to Joshua Maxton, the man wrongfully arrested for the murder of an 18-year-old woman.

Intro

Alphonse Gerhardstein and his former law partner Jennifer Branch, along with the Innocence Project, Announce Landmark Settlement with the City of Cincinnati for Independent Audit of Homicide Unit DNA Evidence 

This lawsuit was filed by Joshua Maxton to fight for justice and reform after his arrest for the murder of an 18-year-old Black woman. The lawsuit demanded accountability for the practices of the City of Cincinnati and the conduct of homicide detectives Bill Hilbert and Jeff Gramke, which caused Mr. Maxton to be jailed without probable cause for more than a year. Prosecutors failed to notify the defense of exculpatory evidence and evidence linking a different man to the homicide.

The reform he’s now seeking is an independent audit of Homicide Unit DNA Evidence.

Background

The settlement is the result of a civil rights lawsuit filed in 2018 against the City and two police officers on behalf of Joshua Maxton. In June 2015, 26-year old Maxton, a Black man, was arrested for the murder of an 18-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed while sitting in a parked car in the North Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati. Maxton was charged with murder and jailed for a year before trial. At all times, he maintained his innocence and turned down plea offers. Ultimately, he was unanimously acquitted by a jury in June 2016.

During trial, his defense attorneys learned the police had been notified seven months earlier, while Maxton was in jail, that key DNA evidence found at the crime scene yielded a DNA databank “hit” or match to an alternate suspect, whom the defense pointed to as the murderer.

The audit Maxton and his attorneys sought of the Homicide Unit DNA evidence will be overseen by a “Special Master” appointed by the court.

Approach & Resolution

Federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman has appointed Chicago attorney Ronald Safer, a former federal prosecutor and an experienced criminal defense and civil rights attorney, as the “Special Master” to serve in that role. Safer, who is donating his time to the audit, will work with a team of pro bono attorneys and students from the Ohio Innocence Project to review the cases in question.

“This settlement is historic,” said Nina Morrison, Senior Litigation Counsel for the Innocence Project. Ultimately, this settlement is a powerful tool that protects public safety in Cincinnati — since any undisclosed DNA database ‘hit’ may well mean that the real perpetrator of a crime was identified, but never brought to justice.”

Updated Tuesday, January 12, 2021

 
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