A Wrongful-Arrest Defense Clinic: The Thabo Sefolosha Story

The behind-the-scenes story of the star athlete's legal battle against the NYPD.

Thabo Sefolosha and Alex Spiro

Thabo Sefolosha (left) and his lawyer, Alex Spiro

If you caught The Daily Show last night, then you probably saw a great segment that we’ve been talking about here in the Above the Law offices. It’s the story of NBA player Thabo Sefolosha’s successful legal battle against the New York Police Department.

Last April, Sefolosha and his Atlanta Hawks teammate, Pero Antić, were arrested outside a nightclub and charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and “obstructing governmental administration.” As my colleague Elie Mystal explained:

Here’s what happened: there was a stabbing at a club. Outside the club, unrelated to the stabbing, Sefolosha was giving a homeless man some money. NYPD was trying to clear the area. Sefolosha was moving along, but took issue with the tone of some of the officers. Sefolosha (who is 6’6’’) admits that he called an officer (who is 5’7’’) a “midget.”

Then… NYPD threw him to the ground, broke his leg, and charged him with all kinds of crap in order to justify breaking a dude’s leg. The jury found that he wasn’t resisting arrest, and that he wasn’t obstructing justice. Instead, it seems like Sefolosha’s only crime was being verbally dismissive of a New York police officer.

The Daily Show clip offers a behind-the-scenes look at the legal strategy for the case. Defense lawyer Alex Spiro — an interesting character in his own right, a Harvard Law grad who worked for the CIA and as a Manhattan prosecutor before joining up with lawyer to the stars Ben Brafman — actually urged Sefolosha to consider the prosecution’s proposal. It involved no prison time, no fine, and dismissal of charges after six months if Sefolosha stayed out of trouble.

But Sefolosha, insisting on his innocence, demanded to go to trial. My colleague Elie’s theory: “Sefolosha’s not from here — he’s Swiss — so he might actually have expected a ‘fair trial.'” And in the end, it appears that he got one. The trial lasted four days; the jury deliberated for under an hour before acquitting Sefolosha of all charges.

Being factually innocent helped, of course. But as longtime observers of the criminal justice system know, innocence isn’t always enough.

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As noted in the Daily Show clip, Sefolosha was not your average African-American defendant going up against the police. He retained — and he could afford to retain — top-notch legal talent. He had a fellow professional athlete to serve as a witness supporting his version of events. And, quite crucially, there was video footage of the altercation.

Sefolosha won a resounding victory at his criminal trial — but, as Elie observed, “I’d hardly say Thabo ‘beat’ the system. They broke his leg, and he got called a thug in the tabloids for several days.”

Well, that’s what civil lawsuits are for. Sefolosha previously announced his intention to file a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the NYPD. We reached out to Alex Spiro, who said that he’s ready and able to file such a suit very soon (ahead of the statute of limitations expiring early next month).

The Daily Show clip appears below. If you’re not in a place where you can watch video right now, you can read more about the case in this Vice Sports piece.

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A Wrongful Arrest Defense Clinic [The Daily Show]
The Ugly Truths Revealed in Thabo Sefolosha’s Trial [Vice Sports]

Earlier: That Time When NYPD Broke An NBA Player’s Leg For No Reason