Man Wrongfully Convicted Wins $4.4 Million in Suit

A Los Angeles jury Friday awarded $4.4 million to a San Gabriel Valley man who was convicted of a 1978 murder and sent to prison on the testimony of eyewitnesses who later recanted.

In a lawsuit he filed against Los Angeles County, Gordon Robert Hall, 30, argued that sheriff’s deputies and district attorney’s officials violated his civil rights on Feb. 25, 1978, when they put him--a shirtless and handcuffed 16-year-old--in a lineup in front of two men who identified him as the gunman in a drive-by shooting in an unincorporated area near Duarte.

Hall was convicted in the murder of Jesse Ortiz and sentenced to state prison based on the testimony of Ortiz’s brothers, Victor Lara and Danny Lara.

Hall’s case received wide publicity at the time, as Chicano activists and a California state senator expressed belief in his innocence. But he was not released from prison until 1981, after the two witnesses said they misidentified him and the California Supreme Court reversed the conviction.

The civil suit for damages took 12 years to resolve--including an earlier trial in which a Superior Court judge dismissed jurors and ruled, himself, against Hall. That verdict was nullified by a state appellate court, which ordered a second trial. That trial began April 5 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Friday’s verdict came after jurors deliberated for more than three weeks, Hall’s attorney, Hermez Moreno, said. Hall choked up and held back tears, as his mother, Bertha, who mortgaged two homes to pay legal expenses, sobbed as she sat behind her son in the courtroom, the lawyer said.

The award is a vindication for Hall, who was victimized by the district attorney’s office and the Sheriff’s Department, Moreno said. Because Hall is half Latino, both agencies did not do a thorough investigation and ignored ample evidence during the criminal trial that would have exonerated his client, the attorney said.

Moreno called the attitude of the county law enforcement officials “little justice for little people,” an attitude that, he said, continued during the civil trial.

“We were willing to settle for a lot less money,” Moreno said. “But because of their arrogance, their stupidity and their insolence, here we are.”

The jury awarded Hall $505,000 for lost earnings and $3.9 million in damages, Moreno said. In addition, the county could be required to pay attorney’s fees, which could amount to another $500,000, he said.

Attorneys for the county said they will probably appeal the verdict.

Bill Pellman, senior assistant county counsel, said the county has no liability in the case because the deputy district attorney who prosecuted Hall, John Carney, has immunity for actions taken while doing his job. Carney, who has since retired, relied on the eyewitness testimony that was secured by deputies and other investigators from the Lara brothers.

“If you can’t rely upon eyewitnesses, who can you rely upon?” Pellman asked.

Even if the county’s investigation were at fault, its liability would still be limited to the time Hall spent in County Jail before his trial, Pellman added.

He said the jury was probably swayed by the fact that Hall is partially paralyzed from a shooting that occurred in 1982 after a dispute over a traffic accident in El Sereno.

“Because of the unfortunate series of circumstances that came to Mr. Hall, the jury felt compelled to sympathize with him,” Pellman said.