- MisdemeanorsODonnell v. Harris County. For decades, the Harris County Jail held tens of thousands of people who were arrested for misdemeanors but were financially unable to post bail. Though arrested for the same minor offense, a person with money could avoid jail entirely while an indigent person would spend days or weeks in jail before determination of merits. Along with Civil Rights Corps and the Texas Fair Defense Project, Susman Godfrey represents on a pro bono basis a class of indigent arrestees who challenged the constitutionality of Harris County’s money bail practices. After an eight-day evidentiary hearing, the US District Court found Harris County’s system unconstitutional and ordered broad injunctive relief. After the bail reforms went into effect, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s rulings that the system was unconstitutional. In the first year in which the injunctive relief was in effect, more than 12,000 people were released from jail.
- MurderIn re Alfred DeWayne Brown. Mr. Brown was released from Death Row in 2015 after his murder conviction was reversed. We represented him in his efforts to obtain a declaration of “actual innocence” and compensation from the State of Texas. In 2019, we obtained an “actual innocence” finding from the Harris County D.A.’s office and a district court. When the State still denied Mr. Brown compensation, we litigated the issue to the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously in favor of Mr. Brown in 2020. The landmark decision will make it easier for future exonerees to recover compensation for their wrongful imprisonment.
- Business DisputesIn 2021, Susman Godfrey launched its Minority-Owned Business (MOBUS) Pro Bono Program which provides legal representation to minority-owned businesses in Houston in connection with commercial litigation, such as breach of contract, fraud, and other business disputes.
- Property DamageAlley Theater v. Hanover Insurance Co. The Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre, the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third-oldest resident theatre in the country, suffered devastating destruction during Hurricane Harvey, incurring millions in losses from property damage, lost income, and expenses. Susman Godfrey represented the theatre pro bono in insurance litigation related to hurricane-caused business interruption. We first secured a partial summary judgment ruling on behalf of Alley in a coverage lawsuit against Hanover over claims the theatre was not properly reimbursed for hurricane-related business interruption losses. The firm later scored a second victory for the theater when they settled the final piece of the litigation.