After weeks of trial that took place in 2018, Partner Bob Lytle obtained a dismissal of all of the charges against a police officer that were contained in a 107-count indictment returned by the Hudson County grand jury. If convicted at trial, our client, who was a decorated Captain in the Jersey City Police Department, would have faced a mandatory minimum of 20 years in state prison.
Pursuant to New Jersey law, a police officer who is exonerated of criminal charges after trial is entitled to be reimbursed for the attorney fees that were spent in his or her defense, as long as the charges arose out of the lawful exercise of the police officer’s powers. Nevertheless, Jersey City refused to reimburse our client for the attorney fees
he incurred in successfully defending against all of the criminal charges contained in the indictment. As a result, Bob filed a civil action on behalf of our client against Jersey City in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Hudson County. Bob prevailed even though Jersey City initially and incorrectly claimed that the dismissed criminal charges did not arise out of the lawful exercise of our client’s police powers. Jersey City ultimately agreed to settle the case by reimbursing our client for the cost of his defense in the amount of $300,000 in legal fees.
