Isaac Wright Jr.’s settlement with the State of New Jersey and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office came to more than $480,000, resolving a civil suit he filed after spending over seven years in prison on fabricated drug-kingpin charges.1Blurred Bylines. Isaac Wright Kingpin Exoneration and Became Lawyer Wright, who later became a licensed New Jersey attorney, publicly called the amount “peanuts” given what had been taken from him.2Esquire. The True Story of Isaac Wright Jr., the Inspiration Behind For Life
The Conviction Behind the Lawsuit
Wright was arrested in Somerset County, New Jersey, in 1989 along with ten others on cocaine trafficking allegations. He was one of the first people charged under the state’s 1986 drug kingpin statute. Representing himself at trial, he was convicted on April 26, 1991, and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 30 years.1Blurred Bylines. Isaac Wright Kingpin Exoneration and Became Lawyer
The case was led by Somerset County Prosecutor Nicholas L. Bissell Jr., and it collapsed once the misconduct behind it came to light. At a 1996 evidentiary hearing, Somerset County detective James Dugan testified that the prosecution had rested on fabricated police reports and falsified evidence. Dugan said Bissell had ordered officers to falsify reports, secured false testimony, and cut illegal deals with defense attorneys to get witnesses to identify Wright as the kingpin.1Blurred Bylines. Isaac Wright Kingpin Exoneration and Became Lawyer Other evidence showed detectives had illegally seized cocaine used at trial, three co-defendants had received undisclosed leniency deals in exchange for testimony, and unauthorized listening devices had been planted in two of Wright’s vehicles. Witness Rhoda White testified that Bissell had lied to the jury about her plea terms.3The New York Times. Drug Suspect Freed in Inquiry on Trial
Superior Court Judge Leonard Arnold called the prosecution “deceitful” and said it offended “the rudimentary demands of justice,” ordering a new trial. Wright was released on bail on December 17, 1996. In December 1997, the Law Division reversed his remaining convictions on the basis of the prosecutorial and police misconduct, and the indictment was dismissed.4Findlaw. Wright v. State of New Jersey
What the Civil Suit Alleged
Wright did not wait for the criminal case to end before suing. In July 1991, he filed a civil action captioned Isaac Wright, et al. v. State of New Jersey, et al., joined by co-plaintiffs Adriel McNair and Sandra Wright, who sued as guardian for a minor child. The complaint alleged false arrest, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, assault and battery, and loss of consortium against employees of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and, eventually, against the State of New Jersey itself.4Findlaw. Wright v. State of New Jersey
The Ruling That Made the Payout Possible
The suit ran into a threshold question that could have ended it. A trial court granted summary judgment to the State in February 2000, ruling that New Jersey was not vicariously liable for the acts of county prosecutors. Wright appealed.
On July 31, 2001, the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed. The high court held that the State could be held vicariously liable for the tortious conduct of the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and could be required to defend and indemnify those employees under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act.5vLex. Wright v. State of New Jersey That decision put the State’s treasury on the hook for the misconduct of a county prosecutor’s office carrying out law enforcement functions, and it cleared the path to a recovery Wright otherwise would have had to chase from county-level defendants alone.
The Settlement Amount
The case ultimately settled for more than $480,000.1Blurred Bylines. Isaac Wright Kingpin Exoneration and Became Lawyer Wright had been locked up from his 1989 arrest until his December 1996 release, more than seven years in a maximum-security prison on a life sentence built out of fabricated evidence. Asked about the figure, he said it amounted to “peanuts” measured against the years it was meant to compensate.2Esquire. The True Story of Isaac Wright Jr., the Inspiration Behind For Life
The public record does not break the settlement down further by defendant or by claim. What it does show is the shape of the recovery: a decade of civil litigation, a state supreme court ruling that put New Jersey itself on the hook for the conduct of its county prosecutor’s office, and a payment in the low six figures to close the case.