Jonathan Jeffress, Defense Team, Win Mistrial in Fraud and Bribery Case Due to Prosecutors’ Brady Error
KaiserDillon Partner Jonathan Jeffress has secured a mistrial in a lengthy fraud and bribery case against his client William Wilson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady made the ruling based upon a violation of Brady v. Maryland by prosecutors from the Eastern District of Virginia United States Attorney’s Office.
Upon being informed by the government – on the eve of closing arguments – that there were additional documents that the government had withheld from the defense, Mr. Jeffress, joined by Thomas Bishop and Erica Conklin of Jacksonville, FL-based Tanner Bishop, immediately moved for a mistrial and to dismiss the case. After two weeks of briefing and arguments, Judge O’Grady agreed, ruling that Mr. Wilson and his co-defendant could not possibly receive a fair trial given the government’s late disclosures. A re-trial was not set.
Mr. Jeffress stated: “We are grateful to the Court for its thorough consideration of the issue, and to the jury for its service. We are also very happy for our client, Mr. Wilson. As a wise man once said: a criminal trial has three possible outcomes – and two of them are good.”
