B.I.G.’s Family to Get $1.1 Million Fine Paid by City of LA Over Trial Misconduct
[Posted by SoCalLawyer]
Many thanks to Patterico for allowing me to fill in here a few days. Although the hefty fine levied by federal judge Florence-Marie Cooper against the City of LA was first announced in January, the story has resurfaced this week:
The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved a $1.1 million payment to the family of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G because of errors in a civil wrongful death trial over accusations that he was murdered by rogue police officers.
The penalty was levied by a U.S. district judge who accused police of concealing evidence and declared a mistrial in the lawsuit, which was brought against the city last year.
(Yahoo! News, Mar. 30, 2006, “Slain rapper’s family gets $1.1 million.”)
The fact that the City of LA paid this large fine rather than appealing it speaks volumes regarding the apparent bungling of this case. On a semi-related note, did you know that Tuesday, April 4 is “Crash” day in LA?