who is slager's new attorney

Did Slager's lawyer seal his own fate?

Gergel wrote it was Slager, not his legal team, that sealed his fate. "What sealed petitioner's fate regarding malice was not the language of his plea agreement or the performance of his defense counsel, but his own willful act of shooting an unarmed man in the back five times as he ran for his life," Gergel wrote.

Who is Michael Slager and what did he do?

Slager, then a North Charleston police officer, shot Scott, 50, in the back in 2015 as the unarmed man was running away from Slager after a traffic stop for a broken tail light. Slager had tried to use his Taser twice as Scott tried to get away.

Was Slager's lawyer'reasonable professional competence'?

In his ruling, US District Judge Richard Gergel wrote in negotiating a plea deal, Slager's legal team "fell well within the bounds of reasonable professional competence and practice." Like the George Floyd witnesses, he saw police kill a man. Now, he's part of the system, demanding change

Was Slager sentenced to 13 years in prison?

A probation officer had recommended Slager be sentenced to 10 to 13 years in prison. Gergel wrote it was Slager, not his legal team, that sealed his fate.

How long did Slager get off the case?

If Norton were to view the case as manslaughter, a less serious form of killing than murder, Slager might be able to get off with a sentence as low as five years, according to Monday’s testimony. On Monday, Savage testified that he took Norton’s comment seriously because it was so spontaneous and specific.

Who presided over the Savage case?

To win a chance at a new sentence, Slager will have to show that Savage was all but hopelessly incompetent. But Judge Richard Gergel, who presided over Monday’s case, asked Savage a flurry of questions, in which Savage admitted he did all he could in preparing the case on many levels.

When was the Scott shooting?

The hearing, which will likely conclude on Tuesday, is yet another high-profile event stemming from Slager’s April 2015 shooting of Scott — a shooting captured on a bystander’s cell phone video that subsequently went viral on social media and national television. The video captured Slager taking aim at Scott, who was unarmed and running away.

Who took the stand in the Norton case?

Savage takes the stand. In a cross examination of Savage by assistant U.S. Attorney Brook Andrews, Andrews got Savage to admit that Norton’s observation was just one of many many factors at play in the case and that Savage , despite taking Norton seriously, pursued all manner of other aggressive measures in the case.

Is Slager a murder case?

At that meeting, Norton told the three that Slager’s case “is not a murder case” — an assessment that Savage, his wife and McCune took to heart in their legal strategy for the next 11 months. In a written statement for Monday’s hearing, Norton admitted he said those words.

When did Gergel grant Slager's request for a hearing?

In January of 2021, Gergel granted Slager's and Geel's request for a hearing based on new evidence alleged in Geel's appeal and the memos from Slager and Savage.

Who was the judge for Dylann Roof?

The next month, the case was reassigned to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel. Gergel previously acted as the presiding judge during the trial of Dylann Roof, who was convicted of 33 federal charges following the deadly shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church. In January of 2021, Gergel granted Slager's and Geel's request for ...

What happened to Walter Scott?

In May of 2017, Slager pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges in connection to his April 2015 killing of Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man, during a traffic stop in North Charleston. The following January, Judge David Norton sentenced Slager to 20 years in prison, finding the operative underlying offense in the case to be 2nd-degree murder.

What did Savage say about Norton?

Savage argued he took Norton's words to heart, and that "blind trust" led to decisions resulting in a worse outcome for Slager.

Partner

Paul Slager represents plaintiffs in complex, high-value cases, where people have suffered life-changing personal or financial injuries. In each of the past three years (2019-21), the Connecticut Super Lawyers * publication named Paul as one of the Top 10 Attorneys in Connecticut.

Honors & Awards

Rated AV Preeminent, Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, highest possible rating of legal abilities and ethical standards