Chaunte Ott gets trial against Milwaukee and its detectives for his wrongful conviction

Last week, a federal court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, found that Chaunte Ott deserves a trial on his claims against the City of Milwaukee and the detectives who orchestrated his wrongful conviction for the 1995 murder of a 16 year old Jessica Payne. Mr. Ott was exonerated in 2009 after new DNA evidence connected the semen obtained from the victim matched the semen obtained from two other rape/murder victims, which was later found to match the DNA profile of the convicted serial killer, Walter Ellis. The court denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment with respect to Mr. Ott’s claim that they had coerced one of the prosecution’s main witnesses to falsely testify against Mr. Ott and then hid the evidence of their coercion in violation of Mr. Ott’s constitutional rights. In addition, the court found that sufficient facts existed for Mr. Ott’s claim that the detectives hid exculpatory evidence of another witness’s identification of the real murderer, Walter Ellis’s, connection to the Payne murder. Mr. Ott expects his case to proceed to trial next year.

Press Releases

Take Action Today

To discuss your case with an experienced civil rights attorney, contact our firm today for a free and confidential consultation at 888-644-6459 (toll-free) or 312-243-5900.

Our Impact

Read the latest blog posts, articles, and writings from Loevy + Loevy’s attorneys and staff.

Loevy & Loevy has won more multi-million dollar verdicts than perhaps any other law firm in the country over the past decade. 

We take on the nation’s most difficult public interest cases, advocating in and outside the courtroom to secure justice for our clients and to hold officials, governments, and corporations accountable.

Scroll to Top