NEW HAVEN (LN) — The ruling, issued April 23, 2026, sets the evidentiary stage for Morant’s trial, scheduled to begin April 28. Morant spent 21 years in prison before being released in 2015 and granted a full pardon in 2021 for a double homicide he did not commit.
Nagala granted Morant’s request to take judicial notice of prior lawsuits and convictions involving New Haven Police Department detectives, ruling these are adjudicative facts that can be determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.
The court also granted Morant’s motion to instruct the jury that former prosecutor and current Judge David Gold has been found to have violated Morant’s constitutional rights by withholding exculpatory evidence, a summary judgment ruling on Morant’s Brady claim against Gold.
However, Nagala denied the City’s motion to preclude evidence of Morant’s and co-defendant Scott Lewis’s post-conviction pardons, finding the relief relevant to proving innocence and calculating damages.
The judge granted Morant’s motion to redact a homophobic slur from trial exhibits and audio recordings, ruling the term had no probative value to the investigative theories and was unduly prejudicial.
Nagala denied the City’s motion to preclude evidence of police misconduct post-dating Morant’s 1992 arrest, finding it relevant to his Monell liability claims regarding the City’s failure to supervise and discipline officers.
The court granted in part a motion by defendant Vincent Raucci to exclude testimony from his ex-wife, Donna Desai, regarding his alleged domestic violence, but allowed her to testify about former prosecutor Gold’s response to those incidents.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin April 28, 2026.