Lisa Hertzer Schertler Obtains Sixth Circuit Reversal of Healthcare Fraud and False Statements Convictions Based on Brady Violation

MARCH 2020

On March 5, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the healthcare fraud and false statements convictions of Richard E. Paulus, M.D., a Kentucky cardiologist, on the ground that material exculpatory information was withheld from the defense in violation of Brady v. Maryland.  Lisa Hertzer Schertler, of counsel to Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears, was principal author of the appellate briefs filed in the case.  In addition to the Brady issue, the appeal raised a substantial Sixth Amendment right-to-counsel issue based on an ex parte pretrial hearing conducted by the district court without the participation or knowledge of defense counsel.  Following the Sixth Circuit’s reversal, the district court ordered Dr. Paulus’s immediate release from federal custody, where he had been serving a five-year sentence.  Ms. Schertler is an appellate specialist who has argued three cases before the United States Supreme Court and appears regularly before state and federal appellate courts.