Detroit is protected from an exonerated youth’s wrongful prosecution suit because of the city’s 2013 bankruptcy, approved in late 2014, a federal judge has ruled, the ABA Journal reported. U.S. District Judge David Lawson ruled on Tuesday that Davontae Sanford couldn’t recover from the city of Detroit, even though his murder conviction wasn’t vacated until July 2016. Sanford had been arguing actual innocence since at least 2008, making his claim “in fair contemplation” before the city declared bankruptcy, Judge Lawson said. Courthouse News Service covered the decision. Judge Lawson ruled that Sanford can still sue two police officers, however. Sanford also received $408,000 from the state of Michigan in a compensation program for wrongfully convicted people.
