William Meyers Honored With Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service

On May 1, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in conjunction with the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, recognized Goldberg Kohn principal William Meyers for his exceptional pro bono work at the 19th Annual Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service Award Ceremony.

Mr. Meyers was presented with the Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Service by the Hon. Ruben Castillo for his outstanding work on behalf of Robert Goldsmith in Goldsmith v. Caceres et al., Case No. 14 C 3560. Mr. Myers was appointed to represent the client by the Hon. Matthew Kennelly. 

As a pretrial detainee for over six years at the Will County Adult Detention Facility, Mr. Goldsmith exercised his First Amendment rights by complaining to jail officials regarding the treatment he was receiving from the jail's corrections officers. In response to those complaints, the corrections officers harassed, abused and threatened Mr. Goldsmith, depriving him of certain Constitutional rights and privileges, including access to his legal paperwork. After more than one year of this retaliation, Mr. Goldsmith filed a civil rights lawsuit against the corrections officers and certain officials at the jail. After litigating the case for several years, the parties reached a settlement in March, 2018.   

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