Two intellectually disabled black teenage brothers are wrongly convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl and spend nearly 31 years in prison. They sued to get pardons and compensation (in one case securing a $75 mil jury verdict, which was largely upheld by the Fourth Circuit last month.) But then they find themselves as defendants again—this time in a suit filed by one of their former law firms, which says they owe it money. District court: But wait, the N.C. Bar's disciplinary commission previously found that the firm's lead partner misled the brothers and did other unethical things. Also, did we mention that the bar suspended his law license for five years too? So, yea, the law firm loses its suit based on a combination of preclusion and unclean hands. Fourth Circuit: Seriously, law firm loses. Affirmed.
The case is Halscott Megaro v. McCollum, No. 22-01505 (4th Cir. Apr. 18, 2023).