Michael Banks and J. Gordon Cooney, Jr., of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, The AmLaw Litigation Daily
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08/13/2009 -
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Morgan Lewis In the News
Morgan Lewis's Gordon Cooney and Michael Banks were named AmLaw's "Litigators of the Week" for a decision announced Monday afternoon. This week, a 16-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit sitting en banc affirmed a $14 million judgment in favor of client John Thompson.
This is the latest chapter in a representation that spans more than two decades. It began with a pro bono case where the team won numerous stays of execution and the dismissal of a robbery conviction that had been used by prosecutors in a murder case that landed our client on death row. The team secured a new trial in the murder case and obtained a full acquittal.
Following John Thompson's exoneration and release, he started a nonprofit called Resurrection after Exoneration, helping people cleared of convictions make the transition back into society. Meanwhile, the team filed a civil rights action on John's behalf against the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office that resulted in the $14 million jury verdict affirmed per curiam this week.