On April 8, 2025, a WilmerHale team led by Partner Ross Firsenbaum and Counsel Ryanne Perio achieved a significant pro bono victory when a unanimous federal jury issued a $28 million verdict to John Walker, Jr., a member of the so-called Buffalo Five. Mr. Walker spent over 22 years in prison and 17 years on parole for a murder he did not commit. The victory earned the team, along with co-counsel Joel Rudin and Spencer Durland of Hoover & Durland, an American Lawyer Litigation Daily Litigators of the Week recognition.
Mr. Walker, along with his friends Darryn Gibson, Darryl Boyd and Floyd Martin, were charged for the 1976 murder of William Crawford, in Buffalo, New York. The conviction rested almost entirely on the testimony of Tyrone Woodruff, another friend, who was coerced by police and prosecutors to falsely implicate himself and accuse his friends of the crime in exchange for immunity. The other four boys were 16 years old when they were charged.
WilmerHale joined the team in late 2021, shortly after a New York state court granted Mr. Walker and Mr. Boyd’s motions to vacate their 1977 murder convictions. The WilmerHale team sought to help pursue civil rights lawsuits against the City of Buffalo and Erie Country.
The case tried against the County rested on 21 items of Brady evidence not disclosed to the boys at the time of their criminal trial. The evidence consisted of police reports showing two other men were more likely perpetrators of the homicide, containing impeachment material regarding prosecution witnesses and supporting the boys’ alibi. The City of Buffalo agreed to settle Mr. Walker and Mr. Boyd’s cases for $4.35 million per plaintiff.
Less than two weeks before the March 18 trial against Erie Country, Mr. Boyd tragically passed away due to pancreatic cancer. The team persevered and moved forward with Mr. Walker’s case.
After a three-week trial before Judge Meredith Vacca in the Western District of New York, the jury found that the Erie County District Attorney’s Office had violated Mr. Walker’s constitutional right to a fair criminal trial in 1977.
This landmark $28 million verdict not only brings long-overdue justice to Mr. Walker and the Buffalo 5 but also underscores the critical importance of safeguarding constitutional rights and ensuring transparency in the criminal justice system.
The WilmerHale team also includes Gideon Hanft, Erin Hughes, Phoebe Silos, Trena Riley and Melissa Zubizarreta, Peter Cates, Jonathan Gliboff, Walker Schneider and Zulkifl Zargar.