Yesterday, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on behalf of Crowell & Moring pro bono client Crosley Green urging the court to grant a rehearing en banc. In addition, the Lawyers’ Committee’s brief argues that there are strong indications that this case was a racial hoax. The court’s decision in this case could re-affirm that prosecutors should not hide evidence directly pointing to a defendant’s innocence and therefore impact how prosecutors handle evidence of all crimes in the future.
In March, the Eleventh Circuit ruled against Green, overturning a 2018 victory that declared his conviction “unconstitutional” and ordered the state of Florida to set him free or grant him a new trial. Lawyers for Green appealed the ruling to secure a new trial for their client, who spent more than three decades in prison for a murder he did not commit.
Green was released from prison on April 7, 2021 when U.S. District Court Judge Roy B. Dalton granted a motion filed by Crowell’s pro bono team to release Green from the Calhoun Correctional Institution in Florida, citing health risks stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that Green’s conviction in the 1989 shooting death of Charles “Chip” Flynn Jr. was overturned nearly three years prior by the same court. In addition, Judge Dalton found that Green had been a “model prisoner” who would pose no danger to the public, based on a declaration from the prison’s warden obtained by Crowell.
“Since Crosley’s conditional release in April 2021, he has found full-time employment, and he is spending his time with his large, extended family. Judge Dalton granted Crosley’s release as the case remained on appeal at the Eleventh Circuit. There is a mandatory period of time before the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling becomes final. Our hope is that Crosley will remain under his current conditions of release while the court proceedings continue,” said Keith J. Harrison, a partner at Crowell, which has fought for Mr. Green’s release for the past 14 years.
A copy of the amicus brief may be found here and a copy of the motion for leave may be found here.
For more information on the case, visit the firm’s Crosley Green information page.
About Crowell & Moring LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia that represents clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and transactional and corporate matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation and government-facing matters, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
About The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
About The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes.
