Pro bono client, Kenneth Oliver, a non-violent offender, has
spent the last 20 years in prison. Following a joyriding
conviction, he was sentenced under California's "Three
Strikes" law to 52-years-to-life. After a decade in prison,
based on his possession of the classic book Blood in My
Eye, Mr. Oliver was classed as a "gang associate"
and put in solitary confinement for eight years. The Kafka-esque
gang validation made him ineligible for release or parole. Raising
due process, equal protection and First Amendment claims, the Mayer
Brown team got the State of California to agree to void and expunge
the gang validation, making the Mr. Oliver eligible for immediate
release under California's Proposition 36. The State also
agreed to pay him $125,000.
This case represents one of several new constitutional cases in
which Mayer Brown's Northern California offices are partnering
with Stanford Law School's Three Strikes Program on
constitutional cases.
The Mayer Brown team included Litigation & Dispute Resolution
partners Ward Johnson and Eric Evans and associates Gray
Buccigross, Elspeth Hansen, Evan Sippel-Feldman, Zaneta Kim,
Cristina Henriquez, Anne Selin (all Northern California), Alexander
Payne, Sarah Balkissoon (both New York) and Samantha Reed
(Chicago); Intellectual Property associates Joy Lee (Northern
California), Anita Lam and Peter Schmidt (both Washington DC);
Banking & Finance associate Kim Perez (Charlotte); and
Corporate & Securities associate Terry Brennan (Chicago). Mayer
Brown academic affiliate Prof. Eugene Volokh also assisted.
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