James Cohen was quoted in a Westchester News article regarding large settlements paid out in wrongful death lawsuits.
While settlements are expensive, cities facing lawsuits in wrongful death cases are aware of the danger of going to trial, said James Cohen, a professor at Fordham University School of Law. He said the settlement amount could be dwarfed by an award granted by a jury sympathetic to the family.
“The city is afraid that someone on that jury is a member of Black Lives Matter, even if the juror is Caucasian,” Cohen said.
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Cohen said the allegations against Brown may have reduced leverage for his attorneys. Brown was accused of stealing from a store on the same day he died, and he was accused of reaching into Wilson’s police vehicle and attacking him, leading up to the shooting.
“You can see the story the defense attorney would tell at trial,” Cohen said.